


Blinding Lights

by AkiRah, inkspot_fox



Series: Beyond Destiny [6]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)
Genre: Complicated Relationships, Light Side Sith Inquisitor, Mostly Canon Compliant, Multi, Pureblood Jedi Knight, Queer Main Characters, Shadow of Revan, Sith Pureblood, cross-faction friendship, unhealthy relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-03-16
Packaged: 2019-10-25 08:03:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 21,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17721314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AkiRah/pseuds/AkiRah, https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkspot_fox/pseuds/inkspot_fox
Summary: Marlitharn, the Hero of Tython, and Katsulas, Darth Occlus of the Dark Council, must join forces to combat the most recent threat to the galaxy: The return of Revan.





	1. Incursion

“You must be Master Marlitharn.” The Colonel pushed off the planning table and turned to greet her. He was human, tall with pale skin, a shaved head, and an impressive smattering of scars across his face. 

Clearly, Marli thought, a man of action. 

“Colonel Darok,” he introduced himself. “Glad you could join us.” 

“My pleasure,” she said, looking from him to the other human male with the red jacket and wild brown hair. He was watching her closely, his expression open but unreadable. Curious maybe. He smiled at her and Marli smiled back, inclining her head in greeting before turning back to the Colonel. “This is Knight Kira Carsen.” She indicated Kira with an open palm. “I confess, I’m not entirely sure _why_ we were summoned.” She chose her words carefully, keeping what movements she made minimal and small— the picture of a jedi master in her actions, because she certainly didn’t _look_ like one.

“We’re going to hit Korriban,” the other human male said, straightening from where he was leaning on the wall and walking over. “Theron Shan, SIS.” 

_Shan_ was an obviously familiar surname and Marli vaguely remembered Kira mentioning a rumor that the Grandmaster had a son. Her eyes widened and Theron deflated a little. 

“See, _this_ is why I keep asking for a codename.” 

“Yeah,” Kira said, folding her arms over her chest and dropping the _noble jedi_ act like it was on fire. “That would probably be a good idea.”

“ _Kira_ ,” Marli groaned. The mask was ruined now, so Marli let her shoulders drop and shifted her weight more comfortably. “What did you mean by ‘ _we’re hitting Korriban’_?” 

“We found a gap in their security we can exploit,” Colonel Darok explained. “But it won’t last long and this’ll go faster with someone who’s been there before.” 

Kira tensed, but both men were looking expectantly at Marlitharn.

Marli’s expression flattened. _Of Course_ they had assumed she knew Korriban because she was a red sith. Why _wouldn’t_ they? Never mind that she’d been with the Order since she was six. She sighed and offered a smile that probably looked as wooden as it felt. “Unfortunately, gentlemen, I was raised by the Jedi Order. I’ve set foot briefly on _Dromund Kaas_ but never on Korriban itself.” 

Theron held up a peaceable hand. “I know. He’s talking about the sith lord traveling with you.” 

Kira exhaled.

“You’ll never get him to cooperate.” Marli shook her head. “Lord Scourge may have left the Empire, but he still carries nothing but disdain for the Republic. And I doubt he’d know anything particularly relevant anyway, he wasn’t trained on Korriban.” 

She expected them to question his motives and prepared herself, yet again, for the explanation that Scourge’s loyalty to _her_ wasn’t in question as long as he sensed that the Emperor might someday return. 

Unless he got another vision, one detailing her irrelevance or indicating that she was somehow in the way of more permanently stopping the Emperor, and then he would probably kill her. 

Not in a straight up fight, perhaps, but he was old and clever and evil and he’d think of something. 

But Agent Shan and Colonel Darok didn’t need to know that. They just needed to know that Scourge had been more than helpful even if he wasn’t likely to have any information about the _current_ security measures around Korriban Academy. 

The questions never came. 

“Even without that, we need our heaviest hitters on this operation and you more than qualify, Master Marlitharn.” 

Marli lifted one skeptical eyebarb at the flattery. “How are we planning to _hold_ the planet, Colonel?” 

“We’re not. There’s vital intelligence hidden inside the Dark Council’s chambers. The operation is a smash and grab and hopefully it’ll give us the edge we need to march on Dromund Kaas.” The Colonel straightened to his not unimpressive height. “This is what the Republic needs.” 

“Then as a jedi it’s my duty to serve,” Marli answered. “I can be combat ready within the hour.” 

“Good, we ship out in two.” 

* * *

Marli’s bad feeling started the moment her boots touched down on Korriban’s red sand. Beneath the general unease that came with entering a place so steeped in the dark side, Marli could almost discern a little voice whispering a warning she couldn’t quite make out. 

Regardless, with Kira and Scourge at her side (the latter _displeased_ but loyal) she advanced on what had been the sanctum of sith knowledge. Resistance was… somewhat less than she would have expected, particularly once they reached the Council Chamber. 

The feeling in her gut grew stronger, but she had to push it back and ignore it as a red sith whose name she didn’t catch accused them of defiling sacred ground with their very presence. Marli tightened her grip on her lightsabers and rode the force-push back towards the wall, using the momentum to add to her spring as she leapt forward. 

She hadn’t felt fear in combat since facing the Emperor, and she felt none now. Part of her missed the adrenaline rush, but most of her focused on the task at hand. She wove and dodged and parried, but there were three on her side against just one Darth (and a handful of suicide drones), and the outcome was pitiably evident. 

She forced the Darth to his knees to demand his surrender.

“No,” he croaked. “The vision… how could the time come so soon?” 

The gnawing feeling in the pit of Marli’s stomach strengthened and she heard a lightsaber being ignited behind her. Marli turned, expecting a fight and finding Commander Jensyn instead. 

She frowned. 

“Now I see,” the Darth stood. “You are not the ones who kill me. You have merely cleared the path for the one who will.” 

“Surrender and no one is going to—”

“I face my fate gladly jedi. The old man was right about me—was he right about you too?” The Darth ignited his lightsaber but didn’t move except to close his eyes as Commander Jensyn carved him open from shoulder to waist, filling the room with the stench of cauterized flesh. 

The bad feeling in Marli’s gut tightened into a ball. 

“A member of the Dark Council could have been a valuable prisoner,” Jensyn said, hooking his weapon back to his belt. “Pity.” 

“ _Pity_ ,” Kira scoffed. “What the hell was that?” 

“Kira.” Marli reprimanded the outburst softly, but she agreed wholeheartedly. “She has a point. He could barely move, why bother cutting him down?” 

“He raised his weapon, I don’t take chances with sith.” 

“Oh Bantha—”

Kira was right; the Darth had ignited but not moved his weapon. 

“ _Kira_ ,” Marli reprimanded again, a little more sternly. “That’s not our way, Jensyn. If you were that worried about it you probably could have broken his arm instead.” 

“Your part of the mission is done.” He said, completely ignoring the reprimand. “My team will hold the Academy while I search these chambers along with a few technical specialists.” 

Marli’s nostrils flared with indignation. _Despite_ her youth, she _was_ a Master. He _would_ listen to her. 

But she could, in a pinch, be patient. She would take it to the Council when they returned to Tython. 

But seriously, was Master Kaeden (may he rest in peace) responsible for creating Jensyn or at least the mindset? It felt like a Kaedan thing. 

Marli remembered uncomfortably how she’d ignited her lightsaber and stepped between the Jedi Master and Scourge at the beginning of their partnership. Her relationship with Master Kaedan had never recovered, but had not, in truth, been great to begin with.

“Take the data and get back to Colonel Darok while the path is still clear.” 

“This is _not_ over,” Marli informed him. “We _will_ be discussing your conduct in greater detail.” 

“Of course, Master Marlitharn.” Jensyn bowed his head in acceptance as she stormed past him, Kira and Scourge on her heels. 

* * *

They were on route to Carrick Station for the debrief when Theron called the holo of _the Adegan Hammer_ looking panicked. “It’s Tython,” he said, the words stringing together. “The Empire’s hit Tython.” 

Marli turned her head and hollered. “Kira! Set course for Tython _Immediately_.” 

She looked back at the terminal, heart rate spiking—the closest to _afraid_ she’d felt since leaving Dromund Kaas. “How is this even possible?” 

“I don’t know.” Theron shook his head. “We’ll sort it out later. Get there.” 

Marli couldn’t remember a trip feeling as achingly long as those few hours back to Tython. She paced back and forth in front of the holoterminal, waiting for an update or _something_. The uncomfortable gnawing in her gut was a roaring sensation, but _of course_ something was wrong. Tython was under attack. Things could be more wrong, but they would have had to really work at it. 

Her boots touched down in the springy green grass of the temple training grounds where she had first encountered the flesh raiders—as close to the temple as she could get—and Kira hit the ground at her side. “Take Doc,” Marli instructed, “find survivors. Scourge, I want you to come with me.” 

“Of course.” 

The path to the temple was familiar, if littered with debris and corpses. Marli was perversely pleased to see that most of the uniforms were Imperial. 

_Maybe_ they hadn’t taken the temple yet. She could hope, couldn’t she? 

She was grateful, as she often was, that Scourge had exactly zero qualms about cutting down Sith. He went through them like they were made of tissue paper. There was a confidence that came with having him at her side. Together they were an unstoppable team.

They reached the library, the bad feeling in Marli’s gut getting worse and found a single chargrian male standing amidst the debris. He turned and, without a word, ignited his lightsaber. Marli lunged forward, but he managed to block her attack and breathed “ _Wretch_ ” right in her face. Marli kicked him away and leapt back, rejoining Scourge on the other side of the room. 

She darted in, low under the sith lord’s guard and slashed at his legs. He blocked but in doing so opened himself up to Scourge’s elbow as it collided with his temple. 

The fight, which might have gone on longer without Scourge’s assistance, was fast and brutal. At the end of it, Marli severed the sith lord’s head from his neck and stepped out of the way to let the body crumble to the floor. 

“We’ll have to find you a real challenge,” Scourge mused. 

Marli exhaled through her nose. “A jedi does not seek confrontation.” 

But she did miss the adrenaline. 

She went to use the holoterminal to tell Theron that the temple had been secured when it flickered to life and she was presented with a tall pureblood sith lord instead. 

“Lord Goh, the package is secured. You and your men can proceed with the additional—Oh.” He looked unamused. “Running a bit ahead of schedule, are we? No matter. You can have your little temple back if you like. I’m done with it.” 

“How courteous.” Marli narrowed her eyes and pulled her lips back to a snarl. 

“It costs me nothing to be polite.” The holo went dark and Marli’s stomach, already twisted into knots, found the source of the bad feeling. The pureblood sith lord hadn’t seemed at all surprised to see her there, if anything he was surprised at how _soon_ the temple had been retaken. 

All this so soon after they had found _just_ the right hole in Korriban’s security. 

It felt like more than a coincidence. 

She returned to Carrick Station and made her way alone to Colonel Darok’s office. She exchanged weary smiles with Theron Shan. 

“Our forces are sweeping the rest of the muck off of Tython as we speak,” Darok told her. “And reconstruction crews are already being prepped. This could have been much worse. Thanks to you, the enemy has only bloodied our nose—and hardened our resolve.” 

Marli considered the destruction that had been done and the lives that had been lost, many of them non-combatants and thought, _yes, but that doesn’t make it not a travesty_. “The timing of this attack, just as we assaulted Korriban? It can’t be coincidence.” 

“It’s possible the enemy’s intelligence isn’t the shambles we were led to believe. I’m sure the _SIS_ will determine how this slip up happened.” He looked pointedly at Theron. 

Theron met Darok’s eyes and growled. “Yes, _we will_.” 

_Oh shit,_ Marli thought in spite of everything that had just happened _and_ in spite of the sith lord currently sharing her bed. Her eyes widened. _The growling isn’t fair._

She quieted the reaction, blaming Scourge for the fact that she was as in touch with that part of herself as she was. She was a jedi, she didn’t need to be noticing, even briefly, how attractive anyone one was. 

“All the same,” Darok said stiffly, “you’ve succeeded in two critical missions for the Republic, back-to-back. You’re a hero and you and your team deserve to be recognized.” He pulled out a small box and opened it to reveal a shiny gold and bronze colored medal. 

Marli eyed it with something akin to distrust and then looked back up at Darok. 

“The Medal of Valor,” Darok explained. “No commendation this prestigious has ever been awarded so quickly; the supreme chancellor was _truly_ impressed. As am I. Congratulations.” 

_Okay, but what about the timing?_ thought Marli, who didn’t want or need another medal— it might make Rusk happy, but it meant nothing to her. 

“Okay, thank you, but what about the timing of the attacks?” She looked to Theron who gave her a brief nod. “And the message from that Sith Lord. We need to look into that, immediately.” 

“We will,” Darok assured her. “But _you’ve_ done more than enough for one day.” He cleared his throat. “Now then, I’ve been tasked with the organizing the Tython clean-up. I wanted to be sure the Jedi Council knows they have our full support, excuse me.” 

Marli watched him leave, her eyes narrowing with suspicion, hand holding the stupid medal that she didn’t want. 

“I don’t know about you, but after all that,” —Theron rolled his neck on his shoulders— “I think we deserve a drink.” He met her eyes.

Marli thought, briefly, about the fact that she was already having an affair and that drinks with the attractive SIS agent would almost certainly _irritate_ Scourge. In so far as anything irritated Scourge. 

“Sorry,” she said immediately. She’d never hear the end of it if she went for drinks and she already found Agent Shan inappropriately attractive.

Agent Shan raised an eyebrow. 

_No, wait_ , Marli thought, _You’re being stupid. This is about the coincidences that can’t be coincidences._ A familiar pull in her gut told her that this was important. _He_ was important. 

Marli shook her head. “I could use a drink, yes.” 

She’d never gone out for drinks before. The Order frowned on that sort of behavior. 

She nodded her agreement and watched him leave, eyes dipping unhelpfully down to his _very_ tight pants. There was a low, hungry growl in the back of her thoughts that she quelled _immediately_. 

* * *

Carrick Station had a cantina, a good-sized one at that. Marli made her way through the crowd until she spotted Theron’s hair, and then the rest of him, sitting alone at a booth. He had his chin propped up on his fist, and his eyes were fixed on what appeared to be a real time holo of Grandmaster Satele Shan. Which more or less confirmed her theory that the Grandmaster was Theron’s mother. 

Which was… frustrating, given the Order’s rules about attachment and the amount of trouble she would be in if anyone found out about her relationship with Lord Scourge. 

Granted, Theron’s father was _probably not_ a sith lord. 

But it was the principle of the thing. 

“Checking in on Grandmaster Satele?” Marli said by means of announcing herself. 

The holo clicked off and Theron looked up at her, looking more tired than guilty. He nodded. “She’s currently acting as emissary to the Drayvos league.” A very small smile crept onto his mouth. “Nowhere near Tython.” 

“I’m glad to hear it.” In addition to being grateful that Theron hadn’t lost his mother, the Jedi Council had taken enough losses recently, with Master Kaedan’s death on Ilum and the death of Master Oric when the temple was sieged. 

Marli looked at the seat across from him and Theron gestured for her to sit down and ordered a pair of corellian whiskeys. 

“We aren’t exactly close; your order’s got rules about attachments.” 

“It’s good that you can check up on her, though.” Marli nodded sympathetically. “The rules can be a burden. If I may ask, why weren’t you raised a jedi?” 

“I was, actually.” Theron shrugged. “I don’t have your particular _talents_ , so I found… other employment. Honestly, I think things have worked out just fine.” 

Marli smiled despite herself. “You turned out well.” She flushed. “From what I can tell, anyway. I don’t actually—Sorry.” 

Theron chuckled. “Thanks. I take it this means you won’t mind staying and hearing me out?” 

“That’s why I came.” Marli picked up her glass and took a very small sip. The whiskey burned and she fought not to sputter and cough, setting the drink down lightly and turning her full attention to Theron. “Jedi don’t usually just go for drinks with attractive SIS agent—I’m so sorry.” 

“You’re new at this.” 

“This being _people_ , yes. I was kept cloistered for most of my youth.” Marli shrugged. “Obvious reasons. And since leaving the temple it’s been nothing but work.” Kira was on the verge of mutiny actually, and if they didn’t stop and do _something_ fun Doc might join her. “So, what’s on your mind?” 

“The timing of the attacks is too perfect,” Theron said, putting the obvious issue out there. Marli nodded, thinking back on the bad feeling in her stomach. “And the only thing taken from the Jedi archives was a bit of tech. I think there’s more going on.” 

Marli nodded. “And what do you plan to do about it?” 

“Well, if I were a clever person, I’d do more digging and try and find an ally who could help me handle the trouble I dig up. Someone, say, who bested the Emperor?” 

“I’m in,” Marli agreed. “We need to know if there’s more going on.” 

Theron smiled at her and it was too easy to smile back. He stood up from the table, picked up his whiskey, and polished the small amount off without any display of discomfort. “I’ll be in touch.” 

Marli nodded politely. “I look forward to it.” 

Her eyes dipped back down to his backside as he walked away. 

* * *

“So,” Marli leaned against the counter in the galley while Kira made caf. “Grandmaster Satele _does_ have a son.” 

Kira’s eyes widened and she looked up at Marli with a wicked grin. “That Theron guy? So it’s true? I knew it!” 

Marli nodded, leaning more firmly against the counter. “He confirmed it. _Apparently_ he was raised a jedi, but he’s force blind.” 

Kira winced. She poured the thick black liquid into a mug for Marli. “That must have been rough. Not just for him, but for Master Satele.”

“He’s turned out alright.” Marli said, echoing her sentiment from earlier. Theron had turned out well and he served the Republic as surely as if he’d been a Jedi. The will of the Force wasn’t always obvious. 

“ _I’ll_ say,” Kira waggled her eyebrows. “You know, I noticed you watching him carefully.” 

Marli stared. “I was not.” She took a long sip of her caf after the lie. “And furthermore, what are you trying to get at?” 

“In the words of T7, Hot SIS agent equals better than evil Sith Lord.” 

“T7 would never say that and _what_? Kira that’s not—that’s ridiculous. Scourge and I aren’t—” 

Kira raised a eyebrow, challenging Marli to lie about it _here_ in the galley when it was just the two of them. Marli relented, her shoulders drooping. “I’m _happy_ with Scourge, Kira. And he wouldn’t take a breakup well.” 

“No,” said a voice from the entrance. “I would not.” 

Marli followed Scourge’s boots to his face and quirked a small smile. “We’re discussing hypotheticals, Scourge. Nothing important.” 

“Hmm.” 

The shadow departed and Marli turned her attention back to Kira. “I’m going to hear about this later, you realize.” Scourge wasn’t the sort to let an argument simmer for too long before having it. It was something she probably appreciated about him.

“Who cares, he’s awful!” 

“ _Kira_.” 

“He is.” Kira poured herself a cup of caf and added cream and sugar to it. “Look, Boss, I can’t stop you from doing anything and you _know_ I’ve got your back when it comes to the council finding out, but I’m not going to sit here and pretend your boyfriend is anything but terrible.” She took a drink. “How does it even work, anyway, with his inability to feel anything?” 

Marli shifted uncomfortably, impressed that Kira had kept from asking for as long as she had. 

She wasn’t sure when Kira had figured it out. Doc had known from the beginning; as Marli’s physician he had supplied the contraceptive. Doc had asked this same question once and Marli had just sort of shrugged it off. 

She couldn’t just shrug off Kira. 

Much as she would _like_ too. 

“He’s an empath,” Marli answered. “He can feel my emotions and he… uses them as a baseline for his behavior.” She bit her lip. “Or did you mean like…” 

“Yeah.” 

“It works… like normal? I guess? I don’t exactly have a baseline for comparison.” She hadn’t exactly slept with anyone else. The only other person she’d kissed had been a mistake back when she was a teenager. 

“But why is he even interested if he can’t _feel_ anything?” 

Marli shrugged, she didn’t have a good answer to that. Control, probably (not that she could tell Kira that) or sensing that Marli needed some form of release or she would go nuts. Maybe it was placebic. 

“You haven’t asked him?” 

Marli shook her head and wondered if she _should_. Scourge wouldn’t lie about his reasons, his blunt honesty was one of the things she love— _appreciated_ about him. And maybe it was best to know. 

But did she _want_ to know? If it was a matter of control, he might not tell her. If it was just that she needed release she would feel… strange about it. As though she were taking advantage of him. 

“Maybe you should.” 

“Maybe you’re right,” Marli sighed. “Maybe you’re right.” 

* * *

Marli stepped out of the fresher in a loose fitting robe and headed back to her bedroom. Scourge had not bothered to get dressed, instead contenting himself with reading while stretched out on her brown bed sheets, not wearing a stitch. 

She was still sore from their acrobatics and early sparring match, but seeing him at peace (or as close to peace as he got) made her ache for him all over again. She curled up on the bed beside him and set her head on his shoulder, smiling faintly when Scourge curled an arm around her, still reading. 

Performative? Perhaps, but comforting all the same. 

“You should clean up,” she murmured. “You’re still all sweaty.” 

“You enjoy my sweat.” Scourge pulled her closer and then pulled away. He dressed, leaving his armor on the floor next to the bed, and headed for the refresher. Marli crawled under her sheets and waited. 

When he returned, Scourge stripped off down to his underwear and slid into the bed beside her, forcing Marli half on top of him because he was large and her mattress was not. Snuggled against his chest, Marli felt the scars beneath her fingers and thought about everything he had gone through. Everything he was. 

_I have waited three-hundred years for you, Marlitharn_. 

And she could almost believe she had waited three hundred years for him in return. 

“What do you get out of this?” she asked as she turned off the light with a wave of her hand. 

“You,” he said simply. “I remember what passion tasted like, Marlitharn. I will cling to its ghost.” 

It wasn’t _much_ of an answer. But it was, technically, an answer. 


	2. Fluid Dynamics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lana Beniko's intel leads Darth Occlus to Manaan, where he expects to catch a traitor. What he _doesn't_ expect is to join forces with a very attractive SIS agent. He also doesn't expect the Hero of Tython to be a pureblood Sith.

If Darth Occlus had a friend on Korriban, it was the Archives. The Archives had sheltered him from the desert’s dry heat and cold wind as often as they had sheltered him from the other Acolytes. The Archives had given him the knowledge and resources he’d needed to survive Korriban Academy at a point when all he’d had were the clothes and electrostaff on his back, with no connections and no formal education. The Academy had been his first glimpse of freedom, but it had been the _Archives_ that had ensured he could turn that glimpse into reality. 

Now, looking on the carnage, Occlus couldn’t help but feel that he had lost an old and dear friend.

“Oh,” Talos breathed softly beside him, “oh what a tragedy.” 

Occlus nodded slowly, still staring at the section of the room where the ceiling had collapsed under the force of the Republic’s aerial bombardment. The relief crews had only managed to clear away a small portion of the rubble, but Occlus could already recognize too many crushed artifacts amidst the stone and broken bodies in tattered acolyte robes. 

He knew he should mourn the loss of life more than the loss of knowledge and history, but it was difficult to find sympathy for any unbranded acolyte or apprentice on this blood-soaked and hate-fueled planet. 

“How much was lost, my Lord?” Talos asked.

Occlus exhaled slowly and carded one brown hand through his black hair. “Much was _destroyed_ ,” he replied, “but interestingly, only one thing is _unaccounted_ for.”

Talos turned and frowned. “They went through all of this trouble and didn’t even bother to steal most of it?” His tone sounded _insulted_.

“I’m honestly surprised they didn’t firebomb the entire Archive to cinders,” Occlus said dryly. “When was the last time you met a Jedi who was more interested in studying Sith history and relics than destroying them?”

“A fair point, my Lord,” Talos said with a sigh. “What _did_ they take, then?”

Occlus pressed two fingers to his right eyebrow and closed his grey eyes. He could feel a headache building. “Out of everything in our collection, what’s the _last_ thing we’d want someone to steal?”

Talos blinked at him as though this was a trick question.

“On a ‘this will backfire on everyone in the most horrible way possible’ level.”

“Oh.” And then Talos’s eyes widened and he took a step back. “Oh dear, they _didn’t_.”

“They did.” Occlus dropped his hand back down to his side and his narrow shoulders slumped. “Now the question is, what does the Republic want with bloody _Rakata_ tech?”

That, Occlus soon discovered, was a far more interesting question than anyone had anticipated.

Darth Occlus had never met a Sith Lord quite like Lana Beniko before. She had Marr’s refreshing pragmatism, but without the posturing. She was highly competent, sensible, brilliant, and had absolutely zero interest in titles or power games despite the fact that she’d served as the immediate advisor to a member of the Dark Council for at least two years now. The polite directness with which she acted reminded Katsulas strongly of Lord Cytharat. As he headed to meet with her, Occlus reflected that had Lana been male, he might have found himself in love with her. Or at the very least been smitten with her. As it was, she had earned his admiration and respect. The Empire _needed_ more people like Lana Beniko and Lord Cytharat if it was ever going to be worth saving.

“Darth Occlus,” Lana said warmly, rising to greet him with a smile as bright as her golden hair as he entered the conference room. “It is good to see you again.”

Occlus briefly wondered if, given Lana’s distaste for titles, he could convince her to use his actual _name_. It had been three years since his ascension to the Dark Council, and he still wasn’t used to hearing people address him by his Darth name. What the hell kind of a name was ‘Occlus’ anyway?

Lana might take the request the wrong way, however. It wasn’t worth the risk.

“Likewise,” Occlus replied, equally warm. “I left as soon as I received your message— I hope I’m not too late. Is this room secure?”

“It is,” Lana confirmed. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I’ve asked you to meet me here of all places.”

“I’m assuming it has to do with our _dear_ friend Darth Arkous,” Occlus said as he walked up to Lana and leaned against the conference table. “But admittedly I’m wondering what Arkous would want with anything on Manaan, unless his schemes involve kolto.”

Lana sighed and laced her gloved hands together behind her back. “He is at the center of a grand conspiracy, as I suspected. I discovered that he had the Jedi Temple raided in order to acquire knowledge of Rakata technology to use in his plots against the Empire.”

Occlus’s breath caught in his throat and he went very still.

Lana must have noticed, because she stopped whatever she’d been about to say next and frowned. “You’ve found something, haven’t you?”

Occlus propped his hands on the edge of the conference table behind him and tilted his head up towards the ceiling. “The Republic strike forces raided my Archives. They took only one thing as well. Two guesses what it was, and the second guess doesn't count.”

“Rakata technology.”

“ _Ding ding_ ,” Occlus said. “Which means that _both_ of those attacks were very carefully coordinated.”

Lana's golden eyes closed. Her expression was calm and neutral, but Occlus could sense her disappointment. “I had my suspicions that Arkous and the Republic Colonel were working together,” she said. Her eyes opened and she straightened as she began to slowly pace, her black cape swirling in the air behind her. “Both Darth Arkous and Colonel Darok have separately been spotted visiting the same underwater research facility. I followed Arkous myself to confirm. He’s working with a Selkath geneticist on...” She shook her head and waved one hand in the air. “...something. I’ve been trying to learn more, with little success. The security is… robust.”

She didn’t _look_ upset, but Occlus knew better than to take her outward composure at face value. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry,” he offered. “I know he was your mentor; this can’t have been easy to swallow.”

Lana stopped pacing and her expression cracked, just a little, at the corners of her mouth and eyes. “I admit, he had me fooled for quite some time. But I see his true face now.”

“Working with a Republic colonel, though,” Occlus shook his head and reached up to tug the short beaded braid in front of his right ear. “That’s still a surprise. Although… if they’re working together, that would mean that Colonel Darok is a traitor to the Republic.”

“Indeed,” Lana agreed. “Although we won’t know for certain unless we get into that laboratory.”

Occlus knew where this was going. He gave Lana a lopsided smile. At least it was an _underwater_ facility— very little chance of dizzyingly terrifying heights. Unlike Makeb. Makeb _still_ haunted his nightmares. “You said it’s a heavily secured laboratory? What sort of opposition are we looking at?”

“Oh, heavily-armed Selkath, an impressive security grid, and likely members of the Order of Shasa— Force-sensitive Selkath who are neither Jedi nor Sith. Formidable opposition indeed.” Lana quirked a very small reassuring smile of her own. “But we won’t be infiltrating the laboratory just yet.”

Occlus raised his eyebrows. “No?”

Lana shook her head and began to pace again, her slight unease betrayed by the tension in her shoulders and back. “I sense… a presence here. A potential ally.”

“We need all the allies we can get at the moment,” Occlus agreed. He rubbed his thumb along his bearded chin. “Especially since I don’t think my word and yours will be enough to pin Arkous to whatever he’s planning if we can’t find proof.” Occlus was a Dark Councilor, but he was still the newest and youngest addition, and he’d risen to power far, _far_ too quickly for many peoples’ liking.

And when the Force gave you a nudge, it was wisest _not_ to ignore it.

“Anything you know about this potential ally yet?” Occlus asked.

Lana was silent for a few seconds, hesitating. Then she braced herself defensively and straightened to her full height (which, while not tall in the slightest, was still slightly taller than Occlus himself) and said, “He’s a Republic spy, following the same line of investigation as we are, but from the other side. I… have already reached out to him and requested a meeting.”

Okay, Occlus had _definitely_ not been expecting that. But unlike most of his “peers”, he didn’t see much of a problem with it either, particularly considering the circumstances. He tilted his head to one side and shrugged, giving Lana a reassuring, crooked smile. “Well this should be interesting. Is he uh, expecting _two_ of us, or…?”

Lana’s posture relaxed when it became obvious that Occlus wasn’t going to reprimand her or shoot suspicious accusations at her. The smile she gave him in return was very small and very wicked. “I wasn’t certain if you’d arrive in time, my Lord, so… no, he's not.”

“Poor bastard,” Occlus said, his smile widening and his grey eyes bright with unholy amusement. “I'm a little worried that he'll rabbit away or start shooting when he sees _two_ Sith Lords, though. Won't he think we're trying to pull one over on him?”

“Oh, possibly, yes” Lana conceded with a sigh. “But if I inform him that my plans have changed and that I now have a member of the Dark Council accompanying me, he may well refuse to meet at all.”

Occlus could understand that. But a show of good faith— from the _Sith Empire_ in particular— was important if they were going to make even a brief alliance work. Occlus tugged thoughtfully at his side braid again, spinning the beads with his thumb, and then said: “How about you meet with him alone as planned, establish that your intentions are genuine, and then inform him of my presence. Ask him if he would object to meeting me.”

Lana's eyebrows rose, but she crossed her arms, tilted her head consideringly, and then nodded. “Give him the comforting illusion that he has a choice, I like it.”

_Not… exactly where I was going with that but sure,_ Occlus thought. He wisely kept quiet.

“Less entertaining than my original plan,” Lana continued, “but it's sound. Thank you, my Lord.” She checked the time on her communicator. “I should head there now, actually. When I call, meet me at this location…” She transmitted the location of another conference room on the other side of the Mercantile Platform.

“I'll wait with breathless anticipation,” Occlus said with a grin. “Hope he's not too twitchy. May the Force serve you well, and may you not need to use it this time.”

"Not what I usually hope for, I admit,” said Lana. She inclined her head respectfully, gave him one last faint smile, and left.

About half an hour passed— during which Occlus tried to look inconspicuous while taking in what sights the Imperial side of the Mercantile District had to offer— before his communicator beeped.

_< >_

“I'll be on my best behavior,” Occlus said with a chuckle. “Heading there now.”

The Mercantile District was not large. Though the Selkath had rebuilt Ahto City, access by Republic and Imperial dignitaries was restricted to a comparatively small and uninteresting platform. 

Considering what had happened to the original Ahto City, Occlus could hardly fault them for that decision.

And as it was, it made his trip to the conference room where Lana was waiting with her Republic spy contact (that was still weird) a very short one. The familiar swell of anxiety, sharp and acidic, rose up in his chest, threatening to etch away at his careful composure. Occlus took a deep, slow breath and quashed the panic down as he had so many times before. 

Occlus pushed open the door and stepped inside.

The first thing he noticed was that this was _not_ a conference room. Computers and scanning equipment lined the walls behind the long center table— all activated and tracking _something_. This was a surveillance room, and Occlus was forced to remember that _technically_ Manaan was allied with the Republic, and with that alliance came perks that the Empire was not privy to. Perks that might just help them track down their respective traitors.

The second thing he noticed was that the Republic agent, currently bent over adjusting a scanner, favored wearing _very_ tight pants.

_Oh,_ Occlus thought as he stared, _oh that is a_ good _view._

And the view wasn't ruined when, a moment later, the agent straightened and turned around. He was tall— at least in comparison to Lana and Occlus himself— and broad in the shoulders, though that might have been an artifact of the carefully-tailored red jacket he wore. A hint of stubble on his sharp jawline and dark bags under his narrowed eyes both hinted at a lack of recent sleep, though that didn't seem to have stopped him from paying meticulous attention to his hair: dark brown, short, and lightly spiked towards the front. Occlus found the faux-hawk a bit ridiculous, but ultimately charming.

“My Lord,” Lana greeted Occlus, stepping forward. She gestured at Occlus and looked over at the Republic agent, a small attempt at a reassuring smile on her lips as she said: “Theron, may I introduce Darth Occlus, Head of the Pyramid of Ancient Knowledge.”

'Theron’ pointedly did not look impressed. “Charmed,” he said, in a tone that indicated the opposite.”Your reputation precedes you.”

That probably wasn’t a good thing, Occlus thought.

“My Lord,” Lana continued, “this is—”

“Theron Shan,” Theron cut in. “Republic SIS, and your new ally.”

Occlus’s smile widened. “SIS? Really? Are those pants standard issue?”

Theron rocked slightly back and stared at him. “ _Uh_. I… what?”

“My lord!” Even though Lana knew that she couldn’t technically reprimand a member of the Dark Council, her tone implied otherwise.

_Worth it_ , Occlus thought. Agent Shan was attractive even while scowling, but stunned bewilderment suited him even better. “Sorry,” Occlus said, still grinning and not looking apologetic in the least. “A _pleasure_ to meet you, Agent Shan. I understand that we might be able to help one another?” Occlus glanced at Lana for confirmation.

Lana nodded. “The way we were fooled by Darth Arkous—the same happened to Theron, except with the colonel.” 

“We don’t _know_ anything for certain yet,” Theron added, bringing both hands up in a cautioning motion before crossing them over his chest again. “Buuut, that’s about to change, if all goes according to plan.”

“Theron has an agent investigating the underwater labs as we speak,” Lana explained.

Occlus raised his eyebrows. “And here I thought Lana and I were relatively ahead of the curve. Impressive. It does beg the question of why you’re considering working with us, though, since you seem to have matters well in hand as it is.”

Lana gave him yet another look that said: ‘I don’t know where you’re going with this, but _surely_ you have a plan that doesn’t involve shooting ourselves in the foot’.

Theron considered him. “Yeah, I think we both know the answer to that. If this is as big as I _think_ it is—” 

“Considering the _perfectly_ -timed attacks on both Korriban and Tython?” Occlus interjected.

Theron nodded. “And the number of collaborators that had to be involved on _both_ sides to pull this off without anyone suspecting.” Theron paused, and Occlus caught the briefest glimpse of a sharp, smug grin. “Well, _almost_ anyone. If it’s _that_ big, it’s too big for me to handle solo, and I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that since there isn’t an army of Imperial soldiers swarming the underground lab at this very moment, you two are acting on your own accord, and you don’t have any backup either.”

Attractive _and_ clever. Occlus liked him.

Lana nodded her head and began to pace slowly with her hands clasped behind her back. “True. It’s impossible to tell how far this conspiracy goes. If a member of the Dark Council is involved, we have no way of knowing who we can trust.” 

Theron’s eyes flicked from Lana to Occlus briefly. “But you trust _him?_ ”

Lana stopped pacing and met Theron’s eyes. “I do,” she said firmly. “And I do not say that lightly.”

“Huh.” Theron shrugged. “All right, then.”

“Lana mentioned that you already have an agent investigating the labs?” Occlus said. “Have they found anything interesting yet?”

“As a matter of fact, they have,” said Theron. “Speaking of which, I need to finish these adjustments.” Theron jerked his thumb back in the direction of the scanner he’d been bent over when Occlus had arrived. “I’m pretty sure no one noticed me slicing in, but in the interests of our newfound ‘partnership’, either one of you mind keeping an eye out in case we have company in the form of armed, annoyed security officials?”

“I’ll handle it,” said Lana. She knelt on the floor facing the door, her hands palm-down atop her thighs, and closed her eyes. Occlus could sense power gathering around her as she sank into meditation and bent the Force to her will. She was strong—much stronger than she tried to let on. The subtlety of her power, in combination with her refusal to use her own title, almost certainly lead those around her to greatly underestimate her abilities.

“Great,” said Theron. He turned back towards the malfunctioning scanner and then, addressing Occlus, added: “And I’ll need _you_ to check in with my agent—it’s been longer than I’m comfortable with and I need a status update.” Theron pointed in the direction of a large console with several monitors, all displaying different camera feeds and sensor readings. “Frequency 462.6753, monitor number 4.” His tone was defiant—almost belligerent—as though he expected a Dark Councilor to bristle in response to being _ordered_ to do anything.

Occlus wasn’t that easy to rile. Besides, this was Theron’s operation, they _needed_ this alliance, and he could recognize a _test_ when he saw one. “Of course,” he said, agreeably. 

Monitor #4 turned out to be the one displaying a wildly chaotic camera feed. The view spun and panned so rapidly that Occlus had to close his eyes to fight off a swell of nausea. “Uh… I think monitor 4’s camera might be fucked.”

Theron glanced over with an expression of alarm, and then relaxed. “No, she’s just in combat. The camera is attached to my agent.”

Occlus stared at Theron, who shrugged with the smallest hint of a smirk at the corner of his mouth before resuming his tinkering with the scanner. Occlus chanced a look back at the monitor just in time to catch the bright _snap_ - _whirr_ of a lightsaber arcing through the air. “Your agent is a Jedi?”

“That a _problem?_ ” Theron asked without looking up.

Occlus sighed. “I sincerely hope it won’t be.” He peered at the monitor again; the view stabilized long enough for Occlus to catch a glimpse of a tall selkath encompassed by an aura of electrified water, and an even taller and broader Sith Lord, judging by the color of his lightsaber. “It looks like she’s fighting an Order of Shasa selkath and a Sith Lord I don’t recognize.

“If it’s the gundark-sized pureblood in black armor, he’s on our side.”

Occlus’s eyebrows rose. “I thought Lana and I were the first Imperials to approach you.”

“You are. He’s been working with my agent for a few years now.”

“...your agent, the Jedi.”

“Uh huh.”

Occlus paused a moment, processing this, and then asked, “Are you _sure_ she’s a Jedi?”

Theron let out an irritated sigh and muttered something that Occlus couldn’t quite catch, but sounded like _‘wouldn’t I love to be wrong for once’_ , and then said, “Look, I’m kind of busy. Can you guide her for a while or not? And let her know that I’m picking up some pretty powerful energy readings from Gorima’s lab. Rakata tech.”

“Rakata tech. _Naturally_. All right, all right.” Occlus watched the fight progress in silence. The Jedi was agile, quick, and powerful, and he got the distinct impression that the only reason the selkath force user wasn’t already dead was due to the massive electrical storm he kept channelling through the water-soaked room; the only way to survive _that_ was to run from it. The camera caught glimpses of the massive Sith Lord’s face, and Occlus tried to place his identity without success. He didn’t look at all familiar. Likely he’d belonged to a different Sphere and had defected before Occlus had ascended to the Dark Council. 

A bitter swell of envy rose in Occlus at that thought. He’d never had that chance, and now it was too late. Such thoughts were dangerous with Lana in the room.

Occlus waited until the fight was over, the selkath dead at the Jedi’s feet, before taking a slow breath and activating the comm. “Hello there, you don’t know me, but I’m a recent contact of Agent Shan’s. He asked me to check in with you while he’s fixing his scanning equipment. I see you’ve met the Order of Shasa.”

“Yeah,” said the agent, who as far as Occlus could tell was a woman with a pleasant voice, though it was currently edged with distrust. Little wonder—his accent was a dead giveaway. The camera shifted and Occulus could assume she’d rolled her shoulders back, stretching the tension away after her battle with the Shasa practitioner. “You could say that.” 

“They seem charming. Terribly hospitable. In that their hospitality is terrible.” Occlus took a slow, calming breath. He didn’t know if he was trying to be witty for the sake of his own nerves or to smooth the tension between him and the agent, but either way it probably wasn’t helping. “Anyway, Theron has apparently picked up some very powerful energy readings from Gorima’s laboratory—which is where I’m assuming you’re headed. Readings consistent with Rakatan tech. Had any experience with Rakatan tech before?”

“Peripherally,” the jedi responded. “I dueled a sith lord to surrender in a room full off the stuff, didn’t really interact with it.” On the bodycam he watched as she slammed her lightsaber into the seam of the door, beginning the task of carving her way deeper into the facility. 

It was an _obvious_ threat—or at least an attempt at intimidation—and one that Occlus did not acknowledge beyond a lopsided smile that the agent couldn’t see. “Likely for the best,” Occlus replied. “I’ve seen people turned into mindless drones by infectious Rakata nanotechnology. I’ve likewise seen other forms of Rakata technology advanced enough to reconstruct entire sentient beings. But whatever is going on in that lab, it’s unlikely to be pleasant. Please do your best to put a stop to it.”

The Jedi did not reply as she finished slicing through the door. From the body cam, Occlus could clearly make out a selkath scientist working busily over the body of a different selkath. He couldn't tell if the selkath on the table was alive or not, but he wouldn't lay any bets on the former being the case.

“Are you Gorima?” the jedi asked. 

The scientist's head snapped up and he looked severely annoyed at her. “I am, and I’m never going to finish with so many interruptions! Go back to Arkous and tell him to stop pestering me.” 

_Arkous?_ Occlus thought. _Not Darok?_

And then he remembered the “gundark-sized” Sith Lord who was _apparently_ one of this Jedi's companions, and who was likely standing behind or just to the side of the camera's field of view. Little wonder Gorima assumed they were _both_ Sith; it was a logical mistake for a non-Force sensitive scientist to make.

“Stop what you’re doing,” the jedi demanded, igniting her yellow lightsabers just barely in Occlus’s field of vision. “I have questions.” 

Either she was trigger-happy with her lightsabers (like _most_ Jedi were, in Occlus’s experience) or she was going for an intimidation tactic. He hoped it was the latter, but he wasn't going to place any bets on that.

“Then you _aren’t_ one of Arkous’s people.” Gorima looked up from what he was doing, supreme annoyance on his features. “An intruder. What do you want from _me_?” 

“I want to know what Darok and Arkous are planning.” She did not lower her lightsaber. “What are you doing here?”

Gorima gave a very tired sigh and looked back to the modified selkath on the table. “Creating an army, or at least the first recruits.” He began to pace the length of the table, talking as much with his hands as with his mouth as he continued. “Rakata technology is self repairing. Quite marvelous to observe, though quite fatal when implanted into live hosts without my special treatment process. Once the implants are accepted by the host tissues, they work in unison. Enhancing strength, repairing damage… the perfect soldiers.”

Occlus let out a quiet, shaky breath, and thought about The Mother on Belsavis. He clenched his hands and felt his fingernails dig into his palms through his gloves. The Mother had saved his life, but in doing so she had rebuilt him entirely. 

Occlus's body remained his _own_ , but some days he caught himself wondering how true that really was.

Gorima didn't know the _half_ of what the Rakata were capable of.

But he did seem to know enough to repeat mistakes made 300 years ago. “Will people never learn?” Occlus said in an exasperated tone, even though he knew full well that Gorima couldn't hear him. Occlus could imagine that the _Jedi_ would have more than a few opinions on Gorima’s little project herself, though.

But anything the Jedi might have said to Gorima in retort was cut off when a _wookie_ charged into view and flipped a cabinet, two chairs, and a whole _entire table_ ass over end. The wookie threw his arms into the air and shrieked, << There you are! Time to learn the cost for crossing Jakarro, eel! >>

“Holy fuck, where did the wookie come from?” Occlus said.

“That would be Jakarro,” Theron mumbled around a mouthful of screwdriver. Theron transferred the screwdriver to his hand and began to make careful adjustments to something inside the scanner. “Rescued him and his associate from a holding cell just before you showed up.”

“His associate?” Occlus scanned the monitor. “I don't see—”

Theron sighed. “Just… wait for it.”

Meanwhile, the Jedi had taken a small step backwards, which still didn't prevent the wookie—Jakarro—from eating up the whole of Occlus’s field of vision. Jakarro leveled his bowgun directly at Gorima, and Occlus tensed.

On the one hand, he had a pretty good idea of what Gorima had been planning to do to Jakarro, and Gorima deserved worse than just getting shot. If Jakarro had planned to rip Gorima's limbs off one by one, Occlus would have thought that was pretty fair.

But on the other hand, Gorima knew what Arkous and Darok were planning. He was just a pawn, sure, but they needed every scrap of intel they could get from him.

“Please!” Gorima shouted. “It was nothing personal! You have to understand—you're such an impressive specimen!”

_Okay_ , Occlus thought, _maybe we don't really need Gorima after all. Fuck this guy._

A voice that Occlus didn't recognize—high and tinny—chimed in. It seemed to be coming from Jakarro, but it clearly _wasn't_ Jakarro. “What are you waiting for? Do it! Before he has a chance to betray us again!” 

Occlus squinted at the monitor until he finally focused on the flash of metal at the front of Jakarro’s chest. “... Is Jakarro _wearing_ a protocol droid?”

“Wait!” the Jedi insisted, predictably. “We don’t know if he has valuable information or not. It would be… irresponsible… to just kill him.” 

_Huh_ , Occlus thought. _Appealing to practicality instead of some skewed sense of moral superiority. Promising._ He'd half expected the words ‘you're better than he is, don't stoop to his level’ to come out of her mouth. But Occlus was pleasantly surprised instead, and furthermore she was _right_ ; they did need the intel.

After a few seconds of obvious internal struggle, Jakarro finally lowered his weapon and the jedi moved to stand at his side rather than mostly behind him, presenting Occlus with a rather pathetic view of Gorima groveling on the floor beside his operating table. << We play things your way. But if he even looks at me again… >>

“I… understand.” the Jedi said, sounding more relieved than anything else. Likely she _was_ motivated more by sentiment than practicality, but that wasn’t _always_ a bad thing, and regardless the fact that she was smart enough to appeal to practicality at all was a good sign. Probably.

Whatever else might have happened between Gorima, Jakkaro, and the Jedi was lost to the loud, rumbling sound of shutters opening. The camera view swiveled as the Jedi turned to look up at a viewing platform, where Darth Arkous and Colonel Darok were watching the scene with equal parts annoyance and bemusement. The camera shifted again as, Occlus _assumed_ , the Jedi’s posture stiffened and settled into a battle stance. 

“Well,” said the colonel. “That explains the dead guards.” 

“I _knew_ I sensed someone familiar,” Darth Arkous quipped.

Occlus frowned at that. The giant Sith Lord at the Jedi’s side must have been known to Arkous. _Shit_ , he thought. They weren’t surprised to find intruders. And if they weren’t surprised… “Theron? Do I have access to the lifepods from this console?”

Theron actually looked up from his scanner. “Not yet. What’s happened?”

“Darok and Arkous have shown up, and they knew your Jedi was here. If _I_ were Arkous, I’d have one hell of a contingency plan in place to ensure no one gets out alive.”

“Shit,” Theron muttered. “There’s no time to slice in to the lifepod systems. But…” Theron brought up a small screen on his wrist comm and began typing with one hand. “I can remotely pilot a small shuttle to dock at a hatch near her location if you mark the coordinates.”

Occlus scanned the laboratory schematics and tapped a nearby hatch. “Done. I hope it won’t be necessary, but…”

“Agreed.”

Occlus returned his attention to the camera monitor, to find that the Jedi had put her lightsabers away and stepped closer to the viewing platform window as the two allied traitors watched her. It was odd to see them standing so close together, yet at such ease with one another. Occlus felt the brief, bitter sting of _envy_ again, and masked it quickly with _anger_. How dare they. How _dare_ they find a way out of this stupid, _pointless_ conflict only to squander it like this.

“I told you to let it go.” The colonel was scowling, his arms crossed over his chest. “You did your part—none of this concerns you.” 

“You are committing treason against the Republic,” the Jedi said in a strong, clear voice. “That _concerns_ me, particularly as you used me as a patsy to accomplish it. _Why_ are you doing this?” 

Occlus narrowed his silver eyes again, but kept quiet. He wondered if this Jedi was part of the strike force that attacked Korriban Academy. She would almost _have_ to have been among their number—it was unlikely she’d been on Tython when Arkous’s forces—with Occlus among them—had sacked the Jedi Temple.

“To save the galaxy,” The Colonel answered with a minute shrug. 

“ _Banthashit_ ,” Occlus growled quietly into the comm.

“Gorima?” Darth Arkous turned his attention off the Jedi and onto the scientist. His smile was oil-slick as he spoke: “Thank you for forwarding the research data along—our Infinite Army will serve us well. You can keep the prototype.” Arkous pushed a button as the shutters closed. 

Red lights began to flash at the corners of the room, and Occlus tensed, but he didn’t hear any alarms sounding. Had they just locked down the station to seal the Jedi in? It wouldn’t stop her, but it would likely slow her down enough to allow Arkous and Darok to escape.

The Jedi scoffed. “They can’t be far now—”

Colonel Darok’s voice echoed into the room. “We’re working for the good of the entire galaxy—the Republic, the Empire, _everyone_. We can’t let you interfere.” He sounded… oddly desperate, and vehemently sincere. 

“He really believes that,” Occlus murmured into the comm. “I wonder if Arkous does too, or if he’s just using Darok for his own ends.”

Whatever the Jedi might have had to say in response was cut off as an explosion violently rocked the room. The Jedi kept her footing, and Occlus closed his eyes briefly against the swell of nausea.

When he opened them again, the ocean was pouring into the room from a breach in the ceiling. Occlus muted the comm and shouted: “ _SHIT._ Theron! Theron they’ve detonated explosives, the lab is sinking!”

“ _WHAT?_ ”

Occlus glanced at the schematics again and watched as entire sectors lit up in red and vanished entirely. “Fuck, the hatch I marked is down. Marking another one. Is the shuttle still en route?”

“ _Dammit_. Yeah, shuttle is fine so far. I’ll get it the rest of the way. _You_ just make sure that hatch is unlocked and get M—get my agents there safely.” 

“Understood,” Occlus said. 

“Feel free to die _before_ the facility reaches crush depth,” Arkous chimed in over the intercom. It was so very _like_ him to get one last parting shot in. “It will probably be more comfortable that way.”

_You miserable—_

The Jedi inadvertently completed his thought. “ _Son of a bitch_ ,” she swore as the room rocked a second time and one of the medical consoles exploded into flames that were quickly swallowed by even more water pouring in from yet another hull breach.

“Language,” said the Sith Lord beside her, in a smooth, rich voice that held the faintest note of bare amusement. 

In spite of everything, Occlus couldn’t help but think: _Damn, that’s a voice I’d enjoy climbing like a tree_.

“Not the time,” the Jedi growled at her companion. 

She was right, in more ways than she knew.

Occlus unmuted the comm. “Right, so, _naturally_ all of the emergency lifepods have been ejected, and all of the hatches leading back to the facility where you entered are sealed off, because Arkous is a gigantic dick and I hope the Colonel chokes on it. The _good_ news is that I actually saw this coming. Theron’s remotely piloting a rescue shuttle to a hatch near your location. I’m sending you the coordinates now. _Hurry_ , the facility is sinking fast.”

“You hope the Colonel _what?”_ the jedi asked, already sprinting for the marked exit. “You… you can’t be serious.” 

“I know what I said. I suppose I can’t _entirely_ blame Arkous for thinking he had to defect—with a boyfriend like that, I’d never want to show my face in Imperial space again.”

She said nothing in reply, but her lightsabers reignited and the camera view spun sideways as she flung herself into a mess of battle droids. Occlus decided it was probably best not to bother her while she was carving her enemies into piles of scrap metal.

A chill prickled the hairs on the back of Occlus’s neck as the Force twisted and seethed in warning. He closed his eyes and focused, following the Dark Side’s roiling currents until he found the source: pain, confusion, and _rage_ that reeked of a very, very familiar Force signature. Occlus’s eyes snapped open and he widened the laboratory schematics, trying to find any way for the Jedi to avoid this new threat. 

There wasn’t, not unless she was a _lot_ faster.

“Heads-up,” Occlus said, “you’ve got a very fast and _very angry_ Rakata-modified selkath after you. Feels like their champion—at least I _hope_ it’s the worst they have to throw at you. I’m not sure you can avoid it, but you need to _hurry_.” 

“Scourge,” the Jedi said by way of acknowledging the voice in her ear. “We’re going to have company.” 

_Scourge?_ Occlus thought. _Lord Scourge? No, no fucking way_. _It can’t possibly be the same…_

Then again, Occlus did remember hearing that the Emperor’s Wrath had been recently replaced. Vowrawn had sounded _particularly_ miffed; apparently he’d been investigating the Wrath for years without finding anything conclusively suspicious.

_Well shit_ , Occlus thought, stunned. _If it_ is _the same Lord Scourge, it’s no wonder Theron’s not too worried about Lana and I. But it’s… it’s probably not the same Scourge._

He hoped.

Occlus watched through the camera feed as the Jedi and her companion blasted through a door and charged across a large room already slowly filling with water. The docking terminal was just on the far side. “You’re almost there—”

Another violent tremor shook the lab as a sealed door on the Jedi’s left _exploded_. For a brief moment, Occlus was terrified that as the camera turned he would see a giant wave of water rushing forward to drown them.

What he did see wasn’t much better.

“Shit, that’s the champion,” Occlus said, probably needlessly, as a selkath three times larger than a normal adult shook its head and rose from where it had stumbled after bashing through the door. “How did he get so _huge?_ Fuck, never mind, you do _not_ have much time. Hold nothing back!”

The jedi darted forward, towards the terminal she needed and barreled into the selkath with both lightsabers. Her blows bounced off the protective shield her opponent was wearing and she leapt back out of range. 

The room shook again but she held her balance. A pipe dropped from the ceiling, spurting fire above their heads. 

“Lead him into the fire!” she shouted. “We’ve got to overpower his shields!” 

The giant sith—Scourge—bellowed a taunt from the otherside of pipe and the selkath _screeched_ in response before trying to charge him, heedless of the fire. 

The camera feed went dead as the jedi leapt forward, into the flames. 

Occlus stared at the flickering monitor, which now showed only static. “Are you _shitting me_. Jedi you better not be fucking dead because I can see nothing but _static_.” He turned. “Theron? Theron please tell me there are other cameras in this room that you can hack. Is the shuttle docked yet?”

“What, no confidence? Please, _I_ get the job done. You’ll have to complete the docking procedures on your end though.”

“Cameras?”

Theron checked a terminal, flipping through screen after screen more quickly than Occlus could follow, and then shook his head. “Just the docking terminal. Everything else is fried.”

“Hells.” Occlus carded his fingers through his hair and exhaled slowly. “Alright Jedi, if you can still hear me, you want the docking terminals at the east end of that room. You have… three minutes before the facility reaches crush depth.”

The terminal flicked on. 

Occlus stared, surprised, as two holographic images flickered into view above his console’s communicator. He’d seen the large Sith Lord before; it was the _Jedi_ who gave him pause.

She was Sith. _Pureblood_.

Occlus hadn’t thought Purebloods were _able_ to be Jedi. Wasn’t the Order bent on exterminating their entire species?

_Now is not the time_. “Huh.” Occlus glanced down at the docking screen and punched in the docking codes. “Damned automated docking protocols aren’t optimized. Sorry. Almost got it.”

“You’re a sith lord,” the Jedi said, narrowing her vibrant yellow eyes. “Is Theron Shan alright?”

“And _you’re_ a _Sith_ , but we can point out the obvious later once you’re not in danger of being crushed. Theron’s fine, he’s the one who remotely piloted the shuttle to you. _Speaking of…_ ” Occlus tapped RETURN triumphantly, and the hatch doors opened. “Your ride. Please be practical enough to take it.”

The Jedi snorted and the terminal went dark. 

“I’m gonna… assume that’s a yes.” The docking hatch disengaged on Occlus’s screen. “Okay, that’s a yes.”

Lana rose from her meditation stance in the center of the room. “Well, that could have gone better.”

Occlus shrugged. “We didn’t lose Agent Shan’s operatives.” He cast a sidelong glance at Theron, whose expression was carefully flat and unreadable. “It could have gone much worse.”

“Gorima had valuable information—”

“We don’t need Gorima,” Theron said, shaking his head. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the console at his back. “Between the data I’ve decrypted and what my agent witnessed, we know that Arkous and Darok are working together against the Republic and the Empire as part of some unknown third party.”

Lana went still, her golden eyes staring at nothing for a full two heartbeats. Then, she breathed: “They’re Revanites. The Order of Revan.”

Occlus froze.

Theron narrowed his eyes and straightened. He uncrossed his arms and propped one hand on his hip. “How do you know?”

Lana closed her eyes and sighed. “I can _sense_ it. I couldn’t place _what_ I was sensing until just now, when you mentioned a third party.” She linked her hands together behind her back and began to pace. “The Order of Revan is—”

Theron held up a hand. “Actually, while I want to hear this, we should wait a few minutes for my agents to arrive so that they can hear it too. Looks like they’ve just made it to the surface.” 

“Very well,” said Lana. She looked at Occlus and frowned slightly. “My lord, are you alright?”

Occlus tightened his mental shields and shrugged. “Fine. This… would not be the first time I’ve had a run-in with the Order of Revan, is all.”

And wasn’t _that_ a gigantic fucking understatement.

One that Lana very much did _not_ need to know about.

Although, admittedly Occlus might have ceased to be a member of the Order of Revan around the time he’d been forced to _kill_ Revan himself on the Foundry. Fucker had been planning to genocide the entire Sith Pureblood species. Occlus often looked back and wondered if that had _actually_ been Revan at all, or if he'd been some bastard's misguided attempt at cloning Revan.

Theron cleared his throat. “Just a thought, but either of you mind ditching the lightsabers for now?”

Occlus and Lana both turned at stare at him with varying degrees of incredulity. 

Lana glanced at Occlus with the tiniest hint of amusement visible in her golden eyes before looking back at Theron and spreading her hands. “Is that really necessary? Surely we’re not as intimidating as you imply?”

Considering that neither Lana nor Occlus stood more than a couple of inches over five feet, it was a fair point. Not that height had anything to do with strength in the Force.

Occlus crossed his arms. “You have a Jedi _and_ a defector Sith Lord on their way. I’m not going to _draw_ my lightsaber unless someone attacks me first, but I’m sure as hell not surrendering it.”

Theron sighed, but while he didn’t look _happy_ about it, he couldn’t argue with that logic. “Fine. I just think it might put everyone at ease if—” 

“You going to ask your Jedi friend to disarm, too?” 

The argument was ended by the sound of boots as the Jedi walked into the room, Lord Scourge behind her. “I’m not keen on surrendering _anything_ to a Dark Councilor, honestly.” The Jedi flashed a small smile in Theron’s direction. She was tall, at least six feet by Occlus’s guess, and Lord Scourge was even taller and _very_ broad. Theron hadn’t been exaggerating all that much when he’d likened Lord Scourge to a gundark-sized pureblood. Occlus was fairly certain that Scourge’s biceps were about the diameter of Occlus’s own thighs, and by the _Force_ Scourge was _climbable_.

_She_ ,on the other hand, was surrounded by the Light, vibrant and almost painfully hard to look at. It was strange to see a Pureblood suffused in that much brightness, even _knowing_ that she was a Jedi (which was strange in and of itself). And she was most certainly a Jedi—her attire was simple and practical, her black hair pulled back into a tight, short ponytail, and her person unadorned save for the barest of cultural jewelry. The presence of _any_ cultural jewelry at all was surprising.

“See?” Occlus said as he turned a charming smile on Theron and gestured at the Jedi with one hand. “No one will be asking anyone to disarm.”

Theron glared at him.

“I see I’ve already been introduced,” Occlus continued, looking back at the Jedi and her companion. “My associate here is Lana Beniko.” He gestured to Lana, who inclined her head politely in greeting. “I’m afraid you have us at a disadvantage, Master Jedi.”

The Jedi let out a heavy sigh. She pressed a hand to her forehead above one eyebarb, the picture of awkwardness, and said: “I’m… Master Marlitharn of the Jedi Order.”

Theron's smirk was audible in his voice when he chimed in with: “And I assume you're already familiar with Lord Scourge.”

There was a pause. Occlus could sense Lana tensing beside him in the same moment that he thought: _Oh motherfucker._ “The… Hero of Tython and the former Wrath. The fucking… damn.” Occlus half-turned towards Theron again and pointed a finger into his own chest. “And you wanted _me_ to disarm? Seriously?”

“I’m...flattered? Maybe? Can we,” Marlitharn cleared her throat. “We should focus on Darok and Arkous. They seem to think they’re saving the galaxy.” 

“Yes, quite right,” Lana said. She straightened her posture and clasped her hands together behind her back. “We were just discussing how we believe that Darth Arkous and Colonel Darok are members of the Order is Revan, working against the Republic and the Empire towards some unknown end.”

“And you were going to explain what you know about the Order of Revan,” said Theron. He looked at Marlitharn and added, “Arkous manipulated Lana and Occlus, same as Darok did to us. They've already shared a lot of good intel.”

“Darth Occlus and I have both had run-ins with the Order of Revan before,” said Lana. “They are a secretive cult that's had it's claws in the Empire for many years. It seems they've pierced the Republic as well.”

“I’m not familiar with them,” Marlitharn admitted easily, resting one hand on her hip. “I’ve met _Revan_ ,” she said the name carefully and Lord Scourge stiffened at her side, “but I wasn’t aware that he had a cult.” 

It was probably not a good time to mention that Occlus had _also_ meet Revan.

“It's unlikely that _Revan_ was even aware that Revan had a cult,” Occlus said. He shrugged one shoulder. “They’re extremely secretive, seeing as their tenants are considered heretical.”

Which was stupid. The Revanites had understood the concept of balance. The Empire could learn much from them, but even suggesting that could be considered treason in the wrong company.

“Something's changed though,” Occlus continued, frowning. “This isn't their style.”

“Well,” Theron said, “whatever their goal is, we know the Revanites have highly-placed moles in both the Empire and the Republic. Which means we have no idea who we can trust.”

“Then I suppose it’s up to us,” Master Marlitharn said, bringing her hands together in front of her. 

The discussion halted as Jakarro strode into the room and interrupted them by very loudly informing his droid that “this was boring” and “he didn’t care.” 

Occlus crossed his arms and glared at Jakarro. Master Marlitharn frowned delicately. Occlus’s first impression wasn’t improved when Jakarro’s droid, apparently oblivious to the fact that everyone in the room could understand shyriiwook, began the most obnoxious translation Occlus could remember having the misfortune to hear.

“My master, the incomparable star captain Jakarro… ” 

Master Marlitharn sighed and turned to the others. “My manners, apologies. This is Jakarro and his droid, C2-D4.” 

“Former interpreter for Her Imminence, Queen Lina of Onderon.” 

Occlus had no idea who that was.

“Of course.” Master Marlitharn gave Theron a look that bordered on pleading. 

“Yeah,” Theron said, his lips tugging into a small smile directed at the Jedi before they fell back into line for business. The brief, warm expression softened Theron’s entire face for just a moment. If that look had been directed at _Occlus_ , he was certain that his ‘terrifying dark councillor’ mask would have been compromised. But instead, Theron was smiling at _Marlitharn_ , and while Occlus knew he had absolutely no reason to be disappointed, he still _was_. “We got that earlier. _All_ of it.” 

<< If you understand me— >> Jakarro pulled himself up to his full impressive height, << —understand this: the Pub and Imp left me to die—twice! I won’t rest until I’ve tasted their blood. >>

_Well,_ Occlus thought, _that could be a little problematic if we want to question either of them, but okay._

“I saw your list of known accomplices earlier—quite impressive,” Lana said. “Could any of them held us find where there traitors might be hiding?”

<< Of course! But I do the talking, understand? >>

“Superb!” Lana said, with a warm and wide smile. Occlus could sense the delight in her; it wasn’t an act. Little wonder, considering the progress they’d made. Lana and Occlus had come to Manaan not knowing what they’d find, and certainly not expecting to make such formidable allies. “Then if Theron agrees…?” Lana looked to Theron for confirmation. 

“Works for me,” Theron said. He looked over at Master Marlitharn, a bit regretfully. “You’d better travel separately. If the Revanites put a tail on us, they won’t know who to follow.”

“Good idea.” Master Marlitharn nodded her agreement. 

“I believe it would be wise for us to do the same, my Lord,” Lana said to Occlus. “Theron and I can leave together; if the Revanites pursue anyone, they’ll likely choose you or Master Marlitharn.”

“Makes sense,” Occlus agreed.

Theron nodded as well. “All right, yeah. It’ll give us a chance to compare notes. Go ahead and get the ship prepped. I’ll cover our tracks and catch up.”

“Very well,” Lana said. She looked at Marlitharn and smiled, warm and reassuring, and then gave her a respectful, formal bow. “It’s been a pleasure meeting you. May the Force ever serve you.”

Master Marlitharn gave Theron a briefly questioning look but returned Lana’s bow with one of her own. “A pleasure,” she said and then looked to Occlus, “Force be with you.” 

She was polite and willing to work with Sith, which was more than Occlus had come to expect of any Jedi ever, much less the Hero of Tython. She was certainly nothing like any Jedi Occlus had ever heard of before.

Occlus bowed to her. “Force be with you, Master Jedi. I look forward to our next meeting.”

Perhaps this would turn out all right after all.


	3. Prime Candidates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marli and Kat meet on Rakata Prime to deal with Arkous and Darok for good. Marli continues to have *problems* concerned SIS agent Theron Shan and his choice of trousers.

Marlitharn sat in a back booth in Carrick Station’s cantina, waiting. She felt… out of place. Jedi moved through the station just like anyone else, but most of them didn’t sit at a booth, order only water, and wait for an hour. It was _conspicuous,_ but it was also all she could do. 

Maybe she should have ordered a real drink, but then, given how she was dressed, that might have made her stick out even worse. 

“There you are.” Theron’s voice was bright as it pierced the general hubbub from the corner nearest her table. Marli looked up and smiled at him, because it was polite and also because he was easy to smile at. When he smiled back and slid into the seat across from her with a casual air, Marli allowed her shoulders to relax. 

“Here I am,” she confirmed. 

“Our first few interviews with Jakarro’s ‘friends’ went well, believe it or not.” 

A waitress brought a pair of corellian whiskeys and set them between Marli and Theron before hurrying back to her job. 

Theron slid one of the drinks towards her and Marli took a small sip, earning another smile from Theron before he continued to explain. “We’re going to start with some antique smugglers from the Exchange, see if they’ve gone for any other Rakata tech.”

Marli’s brain helpfully supplied “the Revanites” for “they” in Theron’s sentence. 

“Glad to see you’re in one piece,” Marli said, taking another small sip of her whiskey and discovering that it actually had a flavor, like smoke and caramel, if it didn’t touch the tip of her tongue. “It’s a good look on you.” 

“The feeling’s mutual,” Theron replied, lifting his glass to her in a small toast and then draining the contents with practiced ease. 

His shoulders slumped a little then and he sighed, leaving Marli with the feeling that she was glimpsing something beneath the mask of a confident SIS Agent. “The Order Of Revan,” Theron mused, somehow capitalizing every word. “Hmph, my family has even more pull than I thought.” 

He didn’t sound happy about it and, considering that his mother was the Grandmaster of The Order—an order that had shunned him—and the relevant ancestor was being propped up as a figurehead for some manner of galactic shaking atrocity, Marli couldn’t really blame him. 

“I can’t imagine the weight of that bloodline,” she admitted, thinking uneasily about the sith blood in her veins. “But you seem to be making your own way regardless.” 

“Thanks.” He cleared his throat and sat up a little more stiffly, closing off in his manner just a little. “Look, Revan was a wild card, and his crazy cult of followers is bound to be the same. Highly-trained bravado aside, we’re up against some long odds here. Are you sure you still want to be dragged into all this?” 

“I’m not going anywhere, Theron.” Marli took a longer drink of her whiskey and managed not to sputter. She looked him dead in the eye. “You can count on that.” 

His smile was back, a little sneaky at the corners of his mouth and eyes, something almost playful. “Teams aren’t my usual style, but I think I could get used to this one.” He cleared his throat and stood up. “All right, I’d better get back to Lana and Jakarro before they… do… anything. I’ll get in touch as soon as we get something concrete.” He gave her a little wink. “Stay safe.” 

Marli watched him leave. With great concentration she did not _actually_ lift her hands to her cheeks and demand to know why she was blushing. She did, however, think about it very hard. With a few deep breaths, Marli mastered her composure and finished off her whiskey (because leaving it behind would have been rude). She paid for the drinks and returned to her ship where, per usual, Scourge was lurking near the galley and Kira was in the cockpit pretending that neither he nor Doc existed. 

Home sweet home. 

“Agent Pretty Boy have anything for us?” Kira asked, deigning to swoop into the galley where Marli was getting herself something to drink. She pretended not to see Scourge. “Or did he just have something for _you_?” 

Marli sighed. “He’s tracking antiques smugglers in case the Revanites have been after more Rakata tech.” She closed the fridge. “He’ll let me know when he finds something.” She took a long drink of her milk, watching Scourge through the glass. His muscles were tense. 

Well, if it was a problem it would reveal itself shortly. Scourge wasn’t one for sitting on his displeasure when he didn’t _have_ to. 

She washed and set aside her glass. “Did I miss anything riveting?” 

“Not really,” Kira shrugged. “You weren’t gone long enough for us to have any fun.” 

“Small mercies,” Marli teased. She grinned at her friend and received a grin in return. “Until we have more information about the Revanites and their plans it’s business as usual.” 

At the word _Revanites_ , Scourge left the room. Marli watched him go and chewed the inside of her lip, knowing that despite appearances, he wasn’t _hurt_ , and she didn’t know if that was a good thing or not. 

* * *

Word came shortly after her meeting with Theron on Carrick Station. She went as instructed to the old office where she had first met Darok and Theron. She offered what she hoped was a bright smile considering the weight of the situation and felt it die on her mouth as she overhead Jakkaro on the holo. 

_Jakkaro_ , she thought, exasperation at the corners of the name.

<< We cannot wait forever! >>

“All right, all right… “ Theron brought his hands up and made a shushing motion at the holographic wookie. “We’ll be there right away, Jakarro. Just don’t tear the limbs off of anything.” 

Marli raised an eyebarb. 

“Anything _else_.” Theron turned and gave her an exasperated smile, but a smile nonetheless. “Hey, it’s good that you’re here. Our ‘friends’ are eager to get started.” 

“So I see.” Marli indicated the holoterminal with her chin. “Something exciting happen?” 

“Since your operation on Manaan, Lana’s uncovered a few more Revanites who’ve infiltrated the Republic military.” 

Marli nodded. 

“I’ve been slicing the traitors’ communications and tracked the messages back to Darok and Arkous. They’re in a hidden facility on the planet Rakata Prime. That’s our target.” 

Marli’s posture straightened out and relaxed, her weight spread out more evenly between her feet. They had a target. A goal. She was more at ease when she had a plan of action— at least if that plan was ‘punch it’. “I’ve never been. Anything in specific I should expect? I’m assuming it’s a Rakatan planet. Just… given the name.” 

Theron nodded. “It’s their ancient homeworld. Apparently there are still a few of them there, but their society has regressed significantly.” He shrugged. “The Revanites probably picked it because it was the site of a major battle _involving_ Revan—one of his biggest victories.” His smile died off completely, leaving stone in its wake. “The messages I’ve decoded… that cyborg technology you ran into on Manaan was just the prototype phase. On Rakata Prime they’re in full production. They’re taking pieces of the Star Forge and implanting them into their own people.” 

Horrified, Marli forgot to be a serious jedi master for a minute and shook her head like she was just talking to Kira. “ _Naturally_ ,” she said with mock bemusement. “Because we didn’t have enough fun with cyborgs _earlier_.” 

Theron stared at her. 

“Sorry. Long story.” 

“The Power Guard project, I know. It’s fine,” Theron assured her. Then he sighed. “Jakarro’s freighter should get us onto the planet’s surface undetected. We’ll plan our attack from there.” He gave her a hard, dark smile. “I can’t wait to see the look on Darok and Arkous’s faces.”

Marli nodded her agreement and took the coordinates to rendezvous with the freighter, moving quickly through the crowd and back to the hangar where _The Adegan Hammer_ was waiting for her. 

“You look like someone lit a fire under your ass, Marli,” Kira said as she blew into the cockpit, taking the coordinates as Marli held them out. “So who gets to go down to the surface with you?” 

“Scourge,” Marli said immediately. “He’s already dealt with the Imperials and it saves us time on introductions.” 

Kira looked up at her. “And about the fact that this all has something to do with Revan?” 

Marli stopped. She rested one hand on the wall and sighed. “It’s because it’s Revan that it has to be Scourge. Think of how…” her tongue choked on the word _mad_. Scourge didn’t _get_ mad. That was part of the point. 

Scourge couldn’t feel. 

No matter how much dealing with Revan’s legacy _should hurt_ him, Scourge would remain untouched. 

And she knew how much he resented that. 

Marli cleared her throat. “It’s personal for him, and I need him as back up.” She swallowed. “Just… let me know when we’re there.” 

She left the cockpit and walked to the training room, completely unsurprised to see Scourge kneeling in meditation in the center of the room. She exhaled slowly and willed herself to calm. 

“Are you upset on my behalf?” Scourge asked, his tone akin to the slither of a snake through tall grass. 

Marli leaned against the wall. “Someone has to be. I know what Revan was to you, I can imagine how much it would hurt… enrage… something… to watch him be propped up like a figurehead.” 

“The Revanites have twisted in the shadows of the Empire for three hundred years.” Scourge stood up and crossed the room to her. “There is no sting in this.” His hand caught her cheek and jaw and tilted them up to face him. “You let sentiment weaken you.” 

Marli rolled her eyes but didn’t try to pull free of Scourge’s grip. “My _sentiment_ is the closest you’ve come to feeling in centuries. Don’t try and belittle me for it.” 

Scourge’s mouth moved in a very small smile at her defiance and Marli huffed. She hadn’t been looking for his approval. “All personal attachments beside, you’ve actually met the Imperials we’re likely to be dealing with and you’re… intimidating.” She didn’t feel good about admitting that part. “If this is as nasty as Theron thinks it’s going to be I’ll need your strength, and with a Dark Councilor involved, reminding the Imperials that we won’t be simply bowled over is… important.” 

“Calculating,” Scourge praised. “Maybe you can be taught.” 

“Don’t start,” she narrowed her eyes at him. “I was having a nice day.” 

* * *

She and Scourge touched down on Rakata Prime along an idyllic strip of beach. The water lapped lazily against the beach. In the brief quiet before anyone shouted for their attention, Marli could hear the call of a seabird. 

Picturesque. 

And naturally, not something she would have a chance to enjoy. 

Waiting with Theron and Jakarro were the two Sith from Manaan. The two _tiny_ Sith from Manaan: Lana Beniko and Darth Occlus.

Marli had dealt with Sith before, many times, and she lived with Scourge. She was long since used to the corrosive power of the Dark Side. Lana reminded her of Scourge: powerful but controlled, the Force was a _tool_ not a _crutch_. But Occlus… worried her. Despite only coming up to about the middle of her chest, the tiny Dark Councilor’s Force signature was the largest Marli had come across with the possible exception of Grandmaster Satele, and rather than feeling corrosive and destructive, it felt like it was… waiting. 

And she wasn’t sure what it was waiting _for_ and that made her uncomfortable. 

Beyond that, nothing about him was particularly intimidating. He was a short and thin human with warm brown skin, jet black hair (annoyingly styled in a way that made her think of jedi padawans), and a neatly maintained goatee. His eyes were silver, catching the light when he was forced to tilt his chin up to look her in the eye. She wondered if this was how Scourge felt all the time, _looming_ over those around him. 

Regardless of her feelings about height differences, Marli and Scourge reached the small gathering and she gave a polite bow. “Sorry if we’re late.” 

Darth Occlus shook his head and smiled, his pale eyes fixing on Marli. “Not at all,” he said. He gestured to Theron and added, “We had just finished formulating a plan. It's good to see you again, Master Jedi.”

She returned the smile with a thin one of her own. “Good to see you too,” rolled off her tongue automatically. She wasn’t sure if it was true or not, and likely _wouldn’t_ know until something happened. She could _hope_ , however, that it was nice to see him. 

“I wouldn’t describe what we have as a ‘plan’ necessarily…” Deefour said in a distinctly unhappy tone.

<< Quiet, droid! >> Jakarro snapped.

Theron sighed and looked at Marli with the briefest flash of a long-suffering smile. For just a second, he looked openly happy to see her, and then his expression smoothed out again, purely business. “I’ve done a bit of scouting,” he said. “The Revanites are camped in the Temple of the Ancients, an old ruin nearby.” He pointed up towards the pale stone tower that rose high above the jungle canopy in the distance. It was _massive_. 

“I wouldn’t call that a ‘camp’ so much as a ‘giant fucking fortress’,” Occlus muttered.

Theron’s mouth twitched as though he wanted to smile. He shrugged one shoulder and propped his hands on his hips. “Well, we’ve gotten this far without being detected, so it’s time for you”—he nodded at Marli—“to go in and make some _noise_.”

“I’m going with you,” Occlus said.

Theron stared at him with an expression that clearly said: _are you shitting me_?

“Oh come on,” Occlus said with a chuckle as he crossed his arms over his chest, “I’ll behave.” He winked at Theron. “And besides, I’ve _got_ to see the boytoy that was apparently good enough for Arkous to commit treason over.”

Marli about choked. She stared at Occlus for a long moment and then coughed to try and cover the start of a treacherous laugh starting in the back of her throat. Occlus noticed and gave her a small smile in response, and she wasn’t sure what to make of that. 

Marli cleared her throat. “We should go then.” She wasn’t entirely sure what to make of the declaration that Darth Occlus intended to accompany her, torn between being concerned that he was up to something and offended that he didn’t think she couldn’t handle it herself. But worrying about it wasn’t going to do her any favors, and so with a shallow bow to the group and with Scourge on her heels, Marli started down the white sandy beach. She kept to the shoreline, walking along the waterfront where she could see clearly, avoiding the wooded areas where they would likely have to deal with wildlife. 

Occlus kept close with his dualsaber unignited but held at the ready in his left hand. He kept shifting its weight in his palm and tugging at the annoyingly-styled braid in front of his right ear. “So you’re aware,” he said after a few minutes of tense silence, “I’m excellent at… distractions. I favor catching and holding the enemy’s attention so they don’t see the real threat coming. But I’m also good at… not being seen. What works best for you, since we’ll be fighting together?”

Marli considered, slowing her pace just a little as she did. She wasn’t sure what to make of the knowledge that he was handing the decision over to her, rather than just making it himself regardless of what she thought. 

It wasn’t the sort of behavior she pictured coming from a dark councilor. She wasn’t sure if she was relieved or not. 

“Scourge is good at getting attention himself,” Marli said, because she had to say something. “A natural reaction to… uh… him.” It was natural to assume that the goliath of a sith lord was the biggest threat on the field. She cleared her throat, “I’m… fast. I’ve been trained to take down enemies quickly and efficiently.” 

Discussing combat strategies with a darth. That was new. 

They encountered resistance in the form of native Rakatans. Marli tore through them with both lightsabers drawn. 

True to his word, Occlus got their attention… and not in a way Marli had expected. 

In front of her and past the rakata warriors she’d engaged, the air flicked and distorted with a swell of Darkside energy, and then Occlus simply _appeared_. He grinned, wide and sharp, and extended his right hand to let out a barrage of purple-tinged white lightning.

The lightning caught the rear guard of the rakatan group by surprise, but it didn’t seem to do more than singe them. Startled and with varying expressions of anger, several of them turned to face him just in time for him to shout: “ _Hey!_ Who wants a new _fuckhole_ carved in their torso? It’d be an improvement on the one in your _face_.”

Marli dodged a blow from an electrostaff in the nick of time and kicked the wielder in the face, Occlus’s taunt playing on repeat in her scandalized ears. There was… a lot to unpack with what had just been said and more when she considered _who had said it_. 

With the Rakata focused on trying to repay Occlus for his insult, Marli was able to mop them up with little difficulty, causing a shower of limbs and heads until the last Rataka was a twitching mound of flesh that had not yet realized it was supposed to be a carcass. 

Marli turned her attention to Occlus and stared at him for a moment, trying to see him in another light. He was certainly nothing like the Dark Councilors she’d heard of. 

What actually came out of her mouth, however, was “What?” 

Occlus deactivated his lightsaber and blinked at her. “Yes?” he asked, as though she had not just heard the words ‘a new fuckhole carved in their torso’ come out of his mouth a minute prior.

Marli didn’t have a great answer to that, and instead worked her jaw for a moment trying to figure out the best way to rephrase ‘ _what’_ that would get her an actual answer. She let her shoulders slump to a more natural position, quietly disappointed in herself for having brought Scourge (who was never amused) over Kira (who would have laughed impossibly hard). Hooking her lightsabers back to her belt Marli reached up to adjust her ponytail. “You’re just… you aren’t what I’ve come to expect from a sith,” she hedged, walking past him deeper into the jungle. “I thought Dark Councilors were supposed to be…” _Don’t say dignified don’t say dignified_. “…more aloof.” 

“Not that you’ve met more than two now,” Scourge observed. “And Angral was hardly feeling chatty.”

Marli glared at him. 

Occlus caught up to Marli, walking alongside her a few paces to her left. He gave her a lopsided, wry smile. “I think Lord Scourge is referring to Darth Vowrawn, who is likewise anything but aloof.” Occlus turned his gaze forward, scanning the jungle ahead for potential ambushes and enemy camps as they walked. “Generally speaking, though, you’re right. But I wasn’t _supposed_ to become a Dark Councilor in the first place.” He reached up to his side-braid and absently spun the red and black beads with his thumb. “Besides, what’s the point of living if you don’t have a little fun with it?”

Marli turned back to the path ahead. She could think of _lots_ of points to living that weren’t “having fun with it” but didn’t feel the need to point that out. She wasn’t sure what to make of his assertion that he shouldn’t have been a Dark Councillor in the first place, however. To her understanding, members of the Council were selected by the sitting council, meaning there had to be some sort of selection process. Not like senate elections, but something similar. 

Surely he must have volleyed for the position. At least a little. 

She looked up at Scourge for help. Scourge, unsurprisingly, looked back at her dispassionately instead.

Marli sighed and turned her attention back to Occlus. “I… huh,” she pursed her lips with a little frown. “I’ve never really put much thought into fun.” Her smile was wry and thin. “It drives a friend of mine crazy.” 

She stopped walking when Occlus froze. 

He closed his eyes briefly, lifted one hand, and opened his mouth as though to say something, and then just _stopped_. The hand dropped, his eyes opened, and instead of saying anything at all, he closed his mouth and just shook his head.

“What?” Marli asked.

Occlus stared at her as though simply _asking_ ‘what’ was incomprehensible. He ran one hand through his black hair and resumed walking. “I realize that now is probably not the best time for… small talk, but it’s a long walk.” He glanced at her, his expression scrunched with bafflement, and said, “How can you _possibly_ not have put much thought into _fun_? Do you not enjoy things?”

“I enjoy things!” Marli defended. 

It did look to be a long walk. 

Scourge snorted unhelpfully, but didn’t interject on either side. She shot him an unjedi-like glare and then took a breath to re-center herself. “The life of a jedi is a life of service, not _enjoyment_.” 

Scourge scoffed. 

She hated him. 

The conversation was halted by the appearance of buildings in the distance as their path took them through a rakatan village. She unhooked her lightsabers and lowered her posture, waiting for trouble as she walked. 

Occlus’s stance shifted as well. He sped up, taking the lead and holding his saberstaff out at the ready, still unignited but poised for a fight. 

“Is that an… arena?” Marli asked in a low voice as they reached the village center. 

“Oh _joy_ ,” Occlus exhaled, and then he paused, his shoulders and back tensing further. “Why is it,” he asked slowly, “that the only path forward takes us through the middle of that thing? And why is it that the village feels empty, but the arena does _not?_ ”

Marli nodded, not really feeling the need to point out the obvious. It was a trap because _of course_ it was a trap. There just wasn’t a good way around it that wouldn’t take them way off course and time was of the essence. 

“Come on,” she set her expression into a determined scowl and headed into the arena, Occlus a few steps behind her. 

To no one’s great surprise the gate slammed closed behind them. The three force users ignited their weapons and Marli stared down a colossal rancor and a tall rakata in a fancy tunic. She growled. 

Rancor weren’t even native to this planet. Why did _everyone_ have a damn rancor? 

“Scourge,” she said under her breath, “can you keep him busy while Occlus and I handle the rancor?” 

Scourge nodded. 

“Good.” She looked down at Occlus who, aside from wearing a bemused smile, simply nodded his agreement as well. 

Marli wasn’t sure what to do about the bemusement, but she was sure that now was not the time to worry about it. 

This time, rather than simply charging forward, Marli let Occlus move first. He and Scourge moved forward, splitting off into a fork while Scourge went to deal with the rakata and Occlus went to get the rancor’s attention. 

Marli waited for an opening. 

It came when, frustrated by the lightning Occlus was firing towards its eyes and snout, the rancor swept in front of it with one massive hand and turned slightly. 

Marli charged, hooking her left lightsaber back on her belt as she did. She leapt, grabbing onto the meaty ankle and pulling herself up the thick leathery hide. Fortunately, the rakata seemed to feed their beast well and Marli had only limited trouble maintaining her grip. 

The rancor swept for Occlus again, nearly dislodging her and earning a loud, “you couldn’t hit the broad side of your own mother” from Occlus down below. The taunt was followed by another stream of lightning. 

But at least the rancor was focused on Occlus rather than on Marli’s ascent. 

She reached the shoulder and pulled herself to standing, trusting in the force and her natural sense of balance as the rancor swayed beneath her. With her lightsaber drawn and ready, she made quick work of the beast by jamming her blade into its spinal column and pulling hard to open the back of the neck. The rancor staggered and howled. Marli forced her second lightsaber into its skull, thrown forward a little by the inertia of its beginning collapse and grabbing a handful of putrid skin to keep from being tossed to the ground. “Get out the way!” She shouted for Occlus’s benefit as she rode the towering mound of still-warm flesh to the ground, hopping off as its face skidded across the dirt. 

She looked Occlus over. “Are you alright, Occlus?” 

Occlus nodded, brushing the dust off of his knees and chest. “Not even a scratch.” He hesitated a moment and added, without quite meeting her eyes, “And just call me Kat, please. It's easier and faster.”

Marli nodded, a little surprised. She knew, logically, that many sith lords took new names or titles as they climbed the ranks of power. Her eyes drifted over to where Scourge was discarding the head of the rataka he’d been dealing with and her chest hurt. 

What had _his_ name been? Did he even remember?

How long had they been doing this, whatever it was, without her knowing what his parents had called him? 

Marli blinked the thought away and cleared her throat. It didn’t matter and moreover Scourge would deride her for caring. “Is that with a C or a K?” 

Occlus— _Kat’s_ shoulders seemed to relax a little. “A ‘K’. It’s short for ‘Katsulas’. But that’s _also_ a little cumbersome to say, hence ‘Kat’.” 

“Marli,” Marli offered, feeling a little dumb because of course he knew her name was Marlitharn. Jedi (quite sensibly) didn’t change their names with their ranks. But maybe an exchange of nicknames was only polite, and in combat shouting “Marli” was much easier than shouting “Marlitharn.” 

Or (and this was more likely), she was just overthinking things. 

They headed out of the village and up a winding slope towards the temple, moving more cautiously than they had previously because it certainly felt like their presence had been noted. 

They came across small pockets of droids and revanites guarding weapons shipments and made quick work of dispatching them, three very capable force users proving to be more than a match for most opposition. They followed a staircase to the top of the small hill, and from there they could see the temple where Arkous and Darok were hiding. More jungle sprawled out below them, though it was thinner here—large swaths had been cleared out to make room for farmland. Marli couldn’t see any actual farmers at work, thankfully. The entire place was… unsettlingly empty. 

“So,” Kat asked as they began their descent down the hill, “I don’t actually expect an answer, but why _did_ you defect from the Empire?” He smiled a little. “Vowrawn is full of speculation, half of which I don’t believe.” 

Marli dreaded the slow chuckle that bubbled out of Scourge’s mouth when he answered. “Marlitharn.” 

“That is _not_ what happened,” she growled. “You defected because the empire—well the _Emperor_ —was _evil_.” Her shoulders hunched with discomfort. “If you start saying it was because of _me_ I’ll have to put up with more elopement jokes and, frankly, I’m at capacity.” 

Scourge did not stop smiling at her. A small, cruel smile. 

And if they had been _alone_ she would have known _exactly_ how to wipe it off his face. 

Kat looked doubtful. “If even half of what I’ve heard is true, you don’t seem the type to care about whether or not the Emperor was evil,” he said to Scourge. “Also, _elopement jokes?_ ”

“You don’t know the other half of the story,” Scourge said easily. “And the other jedi enjoys poking fun at Marlitharn for her abandonment of certain jedi—”

“Shut. Up,” Marli warned, her cheeks a deep and angry purple. “Shut up _this minute_.” 

Scourge looked victorious, but at least he stopped talking. Shame burned in the pit of her stomach for the outburst. A Jedi should be better than that. A Jedi shouldn’t have anything to be ashamed of _in the first damn place_. 

Kat stared at Scourge for a second, and then looked at Marli, and she could see the understanding _dawn_ in his eyes. She was going to _kill_ Scourge. The last thing she needed was a dark councilor knowing that she was the _worst_ jedi. The worst at _being_ a jedi. 

She waited for Kat to say something, to lord it over her the way she’d come to expect (thank you Scourge) and instead was met with gently raised eyebrows. “Touchy subject? I’ll leave it alone.” 

“I… thank you.” Marli mastered her fluster. “Let’s just…” she huffed. “Yeah.” 

They passed through the small village in silence and then up another set of steps that lead to the temple where Arkous and Darok were hopefully waiting. Another shallow set of steps lead them to a raised courtyard and the sounds of a militia unit running drills. Marli ignited her lightsabers and fixed her gaze on the leader of the small contingent of armed cyborgs. She chewed her lower lip. “Kat, if you and Scourge can keep the bulk of the men distracted I can work on bringing down their commander.” 

Kat nodded in agreement and held his dualsaber at the ready.

She was not _speaking_ to Scourge if she could help it. 

Securing the cooperation of both sith, Marli shot forward, juking hard to the left as Kat and Scourge came up behind her with lightning and hurled insult. Sure enough, between the pair of them they managed to pull most of the training cyborgs’ attentions off of Marli, which left her with a clear shot at the commander. 

She dodged the first bolt from his blaster rifle and came up right in his face, her left knee colliding with his nose. She brought the lightsaber in her right hand around to bisect him, but he was faster than she’d realized. Marli hit pavement as he dodged and clocked her in the face with the butt of his rifle, taking aim at her once more. 

_I do not have_ time _for this_ , Marli growled in the safe haven of her own thoughts.

She rushed forward again, robbing him of the advantage of range and sliced off his hand at the wrist, lightsaber bouncing off the cortosis of his rifle. 

Cortosis rifles were cheating. 

The hand started trying to reattach itself, driven to repair the damage by the star forge. 

Also cheating. 

She kicked him hard in the chest and knocked him on his ass. The next blow severed his head from his neck. She drove one blade through his skull for good measure and then punted the mess down the stairs. 

Reattach _that_. 

She threw herself into the fray with Scourge and Kat, intercepting a cyborg as it tried ineffectively to grapple Scourge (who stood a full head and shoulders taller and about twice as broad) and carving her way through to where Kat seemed to be… enjoying himself. 

“I heard your mother sucks cock in hell!” Kat shouted giddily. 

Marli put a lightsaber through the spine of the taunted cyborg and contented herself with just… staring at him. “How did you—why would you—”

“I spend a lot of time with a really foul mouthed mandalorian,” Kat said with a shrug as he deactivated his lightsaber. “You should hear the shit that comes out of _her_ mouth.” 

“I would prefer not to.” Marli looked up the temple steps. 

Almost there. 

Kat looked up as well, and grinned. He twirled his deactivated dualsaber in one hand. “Time to go and crash Arkous’s elopement party. I can’t wait. Maybe there’s cake.”

Marli shook her head but couldn’t entirely mask the small smile. He was, honestly, a little funny. 

And she was allowed to be mad about it. 

Insofar as she was allowed to be mad about anything.

Which was… actually not very much. 

She was a bad jedi. She would have to work harder. Marli resolved to spend the evening in silent meditation on her faults as she lead the way up the temple steps and, hopefully, to Arkous and Darok. 

* * *

Marli was still a little surprised that it had been _Kat_ who suggested that they kill the cyborgs mercifully in their sleep. She would have been less surprised if he’d suggested it for the practical benefits of not having to fight them, but his reasons, at least the ones he gave, had been merciful. 

And this was such a departure from how the galaxy was supposed to work that she almost didn’t hear Jakarro coming up the hallway behind them. 

<< You’re going to confront the men who betrayed us! We will spill their blood together! >>

“Please try to headbutt them with your _own_ skull this time!” D4 pleaded. 

_You would have been more useful_ earlier _,_ Marli thought uncharitably. Instead she took a deep, centering breath and said, “The plan is to take them alive for questioning.” 

Jakarro scoffed and the tips of Marli’s ears burned. 

Kat cut in smoothly: “We’ll take them alive, question them, and _then_ you can have them all to yourself, Jakarro. But we need their intel.”

Marli wasn’t going to just hand prisoners to the wookie but there was no need to have the argument _right then_. Kat would learn, quick and hard if necessary, that Marli had a ‘no torture’ rule. 

Scourge finished slicing the door and Marli turned around to face whatever was coming, leaving her lightsabers at her hips in what felt like a stupid gesture of peace because there was _no way_ Arkous or Darok were going to come peacefully. 

But she was a _jedi_ and she had to give them the _option_. 

She watched as Arkous and Darok stopped their conversation and Arkous, who’d had his back to the door, turned around and looked… disappointed… in them. 

Mostly in Kat, Marli figured. 

“Come peacefully,” Marli suggested in a clear voice. “And you will not be harmed.” 

<< Oh yes they—>>

“Shut up, Jakarro.” 

“My,” Arkous laughed. “But we have a _very_ high opinion of ourselves, don’t we?” 

Marli raised an eye-tendril. 

“This from the man who thought playing both sides and running away with his boyfriend was a good idea?” Kat asked. 

Arkous batted a hand dismissively.

“This project would have accelerated our plans considerably. Losing it is regrettable, but it will not stop us.” Darok folded his arms over his chest and tried to glare right through Marli, ignoring Kat’s jab. 

“Oh Occlus,” Arkous said in a voice of honey and arsenic. “You’ve done a _fair_ amount of damage it’s true. But the project isn’t a total loss—after all, you’ve helpfully delivered yourselves for the slaughter.” 

“Would daddy really have disapproved _that hard_?” Kat teased. 

Arkous, Marli decided, was exactly what she expected from sith lords. That made this all _much_ easier. 

“We have a plan.” Darok put a hand on his assault cannon. “You’re not a part of it. That’s all that matters now.” 

<< Is it part of your plan to be torn limb from limb? >> Jakarro hollered, picking up what looked to Marli like a hunk of rebar. 

Enthusiastic? Yes. Practical? Not so much. 

“You and that simple minded beast will have the—” Arkous was cut off with a bolt of lightning from Katsulas’s outstretched hand. 

“You _done_?” Kat growled, igniting his dualsaber. 

Marli took the hint. She ignited both sabers and leapt at Arkous, figuring it best to take out the force user _first_. 

“You think you’re the first Jedi I’ve killed?” Arkous taunted, blocking Marli’s swing with one of his own. “And you’re little more than a padawan.” 

“That,” Marli grunted as she kicked him in the side. “Is hilarious.” 

“You won’t be the first Dark Councilor she’s killed,” Kat pointed out, materializing behind Arkous. “Guess how I know!” Kat skidded backwards a few steps as Arkous blasted him with a wave of force, but it didn’t wipe the grin off his face.

Marli wasn’t used to this much talking in a fight. She swept Arkous’s legs out from under him and cartwheeled out of the way as he tried to trip her up. 

“She’s the Hero of Ty~thon,” Kat sang like it was a children’s nursery rhyme. “You’re decidedly fu~cked.” 

Marli delivered three swift kicks to Arkous’s temple, twisting so his lightsaber missed her by inches. He summoned darkness to suffocate her and tendrils to seep into her skull and pluck out her eyeballs. 

Marli kicked him again when something coiled around her wrist and jerked her back towards Darok. 

The colonel went to stomp on her face, turning away from Scourge to do so, and then clutched for his throat. Marli rolled out of the way in time to watch Darok throw an elbow back to break Scourge’s concentration—if not his nose. Darok fired at Marli and she darted in, under his weapon. 

“You _will_ die.” 

“You _know_ who I am,” Marli growled. “Stronger men than you have tried.” She kneed him in the crotch, knee connecting hard with the plating but still forcing Darok instinctively forward. She slammed his face into the pavement. Darok rolled, just barely missing the jab of her lightsaber through his eye. 

And then Scourge slammed his boot down on Darok’s face. 

Again, and again. 

And Marli drove her blade through the soft parts of Darok’s armor to end his suffering before Scourge made a very fine jam from the inside of the colonel’s head. 

“I thought we were supposed to be taking them alive,” Scourge mocked gently. 

“Right, you were going to _stop_.” 

His cruel smile told her she had made the right call. 

“What the _fuck_!” Kat shouted, pulling both Marli and Scourge’s attention over to his fight with Jakarro and Arkous. Arkous slumped backwards, smoke billowing from his eyes, while Kat stared at him in horror. 

“What happened?” Marli asked. 

“He just… looked at Darok and… _fried_ himself.” Kat shook his head in wordless disbelief. “I had been _mostly_ kidding about the boyfriend thing. Shit.” 

Marli stared at the lifeless body and then looked back at Kat. 

They had failed. 

Marli frowned. They had stopped Darok and Arkous’s short reign of terror, but they had failed to get answers about the greater implications, if there were any. Who knew what the pair had set in motion? 

“We should contact Lana and Theron.” Marli said, tearing her eyes away and turning, she walked towards the nearby comms console, trusting that everyone was following her. 

She chewed her lip as Theron came into view, Lana with him. Letting her gaze drop to the side, she took a breath. “Darok fought to the last and then Arkous suicided to keep himself from being taken prisoner. We won’t be able to extract any information from them.” 

She braced for disappointment. 

“Copy that…” Theron shook his head. “Blast it.” 

She stopped herself from apologizing, but only barely. 

<< Why should we care what they could have said? >> Jakarro demanded. << They were weak liars! >>

“I must agree with my master. They’re far more trustworthy as corpses.” D4 agreed. 

“Only a fool discards the value of information,” Kat snapped.

Any argument that might have sparked was cut short as Lana looked up. Her delicate expression was marred with a deep frown. “I sense something. We’re in danger.” 

Marli looked around and caught sight of Scourge, who had gone still as stone. Without thinking she curled a hand around his wrist. 

_How_? he mouthed, staring up at the perfect clear day. 

“Multiple sensor contacts!” Theron snapped. “Capital ships are dropping out of hyperspace—no IDs.” He looked at something Marli couldn’t see. “One of them’s coming in hot!” 

A voice, a _familiar_ voice, echoed through the courtyard, blasted from the capital ship just barely in view. Marli tightened her grip on Scourge’s wrist. “Arkous and Darok were valuable allies in my cause. But their deaths will not delay what is coming.” 

It sounded like Revan, and under normal circumstances she would have dismissed it as a hoax but Scourge was barely breathing, probably from shock. 

“That voice…” Lana said. 

“It’s him,” Theron confirmed. “Revan.” 

As if on cue, a colossal hologram displaying Revan’s masked and cloaked head and shoulders appeared in the courtyard. Marli gripped Scourge’s wrist as tightly as she could, only distantly aware that someone might notice. “My Infinite Army could have achieved so much. But I still have other weapons in my arsenal.” 

“You’re dead,” Kat objected, sounding _deeply_ offended. “I was _there!_ You were in _pieces!_ What the fuck?” 

There was a lot to unpack there. Marli would unpack it in a minute. 

“When the goal is important enough,” Revan intoned. “One learns to overcome any obstacle.” 

Marli turned to Kat, unable to hold back any longer. “What do you mean you were _there_?”

“I killed him,” Kat said petulantly. “He was going to genocide everyone with pureblood DNA. Do you have any idea how many _people_ that is?” 

Marli, a pureblood herself, shot a betrayed look at Revan as if expecting him to contradict what Kat had just said. She had _rescued_ Revan from the Maelstrom prison. Surely that had redeemed the species at least a little in his eyes. 

Was this Scourge’s fault? 

This felt like a thing that might have been Scourge’s fault. 

Scourge, who was still staring, a man transfixed. She shifted a little closer to him, just trying to remind him of her presence, that whatever was going through his head was something he didn’t have to go through alone. 

He _couldn’t feel,_ but he could _remember_ feeling. He knew what emotion he was lacking at any given moment. 

What would he have felt, faced with Revan again after everything?

“My followers are legion,” Revan snapped everyone’s attention back to him. “My ranks grow every hour, as more and more people see the truth of the galaxy. The Emperor couldn’t break me. Even death could not stop me. I will finish what I’ve started. And you will _not_ interfere again.” 

“They’re powering up weapons!” Theron shouted. “Get out of there! Now!” 

The four of them rushed towards the temple and, eventually, the safety of the shuttle Jakarro had taken. 

* * *

Aboard _The Adegan Hammer,_ Marli had a moment to unpack everything that had happened and square with the knowledge that their new enemy was _Revan_. She looked up as the bedroom door whooshed open and Scourge filled the doorway. 

He couldn’t feel anything for himself. 

But she could feel things for him. 

Marli stood up and crossed the small room to him. She rose up on the balls of her feet to kiss him, gently this time, hands coming up to the fasteners of his cloak. 

“I thought you were angry with me,” Scourge said, a hint of approval in his velvety voice. 

“I was,” Marli admitted, letting him call her out on the emotion. Her plans of silent meditation had fallen by the wayside anyway. “But now…” she swallowed. “If I’d known it was Revan I would have… something. I would have done _something_.” 

“It doesn’t hurt,” Scourge told her in a flat voice. 

“But it should.” 

Scourge had told her before about Revan, how frustration had become admiration and admiration had become affection. Revan had never returned Scourge’s feelings—Marli felt unsure that he’d ever _known_ about them—but they’d been earnest and real. 

And the sting of betraying the man he loved may very well have been the very last thing Scourge had ever felt. 

Scourge let her kiss him and obliged as she removed his armor and undershirt, drawing him back to the mattress. He kissed her back as she hit the mattress, content to be the one on top for once. 

He tugged her bottoms off and dropped them to the side of the bed. 

Marli felt him tug on their force bond, using his empathy to fascimilate having his own emotions. She bit the inside of her cheek and slowly lowered her walls for him as he pressed into her, physically and mentally. 

Confusion, hurt, adoration, the leftover irritation, she offered them all to him. 

And Scourge took what he was given. 

* * *

After an alarming message from Theron’s astromech, or at least, the astromech Theron had been using, Marli returned to Manaan with Scourge. She made her way to the same corporate office in which she’d first met Kat and Lana and was not surprised to find them there. She spared a small smile before turning her worried expression to Theron to make sure he was all in one piece, eyes surreptitiously traveling over him as he spoke with Kat. And also because he was just… good to look at. 

“Theron,” Lana noticed her first and got Theron’s attention for her. 

Theron’s shoulders relaxed a little. “It’s… good to see you.” 

“Glad to see you’re in one piece,” Marli offered. 

Theron cracked a tiny smile. “You said it was a good look for me, I hate to disappoint.”

Kat looked… confused for a moment. He looked from Marli to Theron to Scourge to Theron and then back to Marli, who pointedly pretended not to notice. 

Her attention shifted onto Lana and Kat as Theron lead Jakarro away to discuss “something” and Marli folded her hands in front of her, once more a picture perfect Jedi if one discounted all the red. 

“As I was telling Darth Occlus,” Lana started, “Theron and I learned some… troubling things after we escaped Rakata Prime.” 

“Jakarro took it better than I thought,” Theron said, rejoining the conversation minus one wookie. “You tell them yet?” 

Lana shook her head. 

Marli furrowed her brow with worry and looked over at Theron. 

“We’ll meet again,” Lana gave Marli a small bow and then gave Kat a deeper one and the hint of a smile. Marli suspected that there were _feelings_ involved, possibly on both ends. “I’m certain of it.” 

Theron waited for Lana to leave before turning his attentions back to the trio in front of him. “She’s pretty confident for someone with a bounty on her head.” 

Kat stiffened, puffing himself up protectively in the corner of Marli’s eye. 

“Are the Revanites bold enough to put out bounty contracts now?” 

“Not directly,” Theron shook his head. “It’s an Imperial contract for murdering Arkous.”

Kat frowned. “Normally that would have earned her a promotion.”

Theron nodded. “They’ve also arranged twelve separate death marks for Jakarro. That’s a new record for him.” 

“And you?” Marli was almost dreading it. 

Theron sighed. “Disavowed Rogue Agent,” he managed to capitalize the start of each word, a talent he shared with his mother. “Apprehend on sight. Pretty tame compared to the others. The Director must have stood up for me.”

“ _Rogue_ agent,” Kat mused. “Sounds like you’re even more dangerous now.” 

Theron turned a cute shade of pink. He cleared his throat, coughed and looked away. “That’s why I have to go.” 

“Somehow, the Revanites haven’t been able to touch either of you yet—your records are still clean. But it won’t stay that way if you’re seen working with us.” 

Marli frowned. She wasn’t going to just _abandon_ him. Them. _Them_. 

“Lana, Jakarro, Deefour and I are all going off the grid. We need to stay hidden if we’re going to continue our investigation—no contact period.” 

Kat crossed his arms over his chest but nodded slightly. 

“No contact at all?” Marli asked, feeling stupid and childish the minute it fell out of her mouth. 

Theron gave her a tiny smile. “If we had more time… but we don’t.” 

Scourge growled faintly. 

Kat sighed. “I need to make a call.” He looked Theron up and down. “See you around, I hope.” 

Theron flushed again. “Yeah.” He cleared his throat as Kat left and looked back at Marli. “There’s something I need you to do for me.”

“Anything.” 

Scourge growled again, a little louder. 

“The Revanites will be watching you so do what you do best: travel the galaxy, achieve impossible things, and make it hard for them to keep up. The busier you keep the Revanites, the easier it’ll be for the rest of us to slip through the cracks and find their leader.” 

“I can do that,” Marli said with a small nod. “Just keep yourself alive, Theron.” 

He nodded. “You too.” He cleared his throat. “All right, I’d better get moving— the faster we start running, the easier this will all be. We’ll send word as soon as we have something—and then we’ll see what this Revan guy—”

Scourge growled again. 

“—is really made of.” 

“May the force be with you.” 

“You too,” he seemed to pause for a moment. “Marli.” 

She _liked_ when he used her nickname. 

She liked it _a lot_. 

Scourge, who set a hand on her shoulder and squeezed a little as Theron left the room, seemed to like it a little less. 

She left the room and found Kat on his comm. “I will _pay_ you not to take that bounty,” he said to the figure of a tall and skinny chiss woman in his palm. 

“That fucking serious, really?” She asked. 

“That fucking serious.” 

“Sure Cred-stick, I’ll leave your fucking girlfriend alone.”

“We’re not—” The comm went dead. Kat sighed heavily. 

Marli tried very hard not to look like she’d been eavesdropping. She couldn’t imagine a Dark Councilor taking kindly to his private conversations being listened to. 

Kat turned and rolled his eyes. “Bounty hunter,” he explained. “Lana explained things when I left to make the call.” He rolled his shoulders back. “I suppose this is goodbye.” 

Marli nodded. 

“I hope I never see you again,” Kat said seriously. “And that your life is long and happy.” 

Marli understood the sentiment. If she ever saw him again, they would probably be forced to meet as enemies. “We might end up working together again.” 

“I hope so.” 

She watched him leave and then headed back to her ship. 


End file.
